I‘ve been advocating that for ages. There are TONS of foreigners in Japan who either completely rely on their spouse for Japanese, don‘t speak at all(single) or just broken, even after DECADES. Those are the ones giving us the reputation of: foreigner problem!!! foreigner don‘t know trash rule!!! help, English!!! (misspelled on purpose)
Japanese aside “and other societal instruction”? What freaking instructions? They will be teaching how to sort that garbage or what? That sounds so dystopia and just pure nihonjin.
Let me guess, the classes will all be from ten am to two pm on weekdays only? That’s what they do in my area, and then complain that foreigners don’t take advantage of the free language and culture classes.
Language competency strikes me as an essential component to a sensible immigration policy. I also think learning and committing to some cultural norms should be included.
I agree whole fully on this
“societal instruction” LOL
Do as we say, not as we do.
This is too vague to be meaningful.
No need for someone being brought on for a medium term contract to have Japanese skills before arrival, and their family will be hanging with other expat families too.
People on spouse visas should need language skills before moving? I don’t think so
Please give me Japanese lessons… happily. But I think giving people some kind of credit towards classes that fit their own schedule would make more sense
The first 3/4 of the article are about cranking up language skills of foreigners then switches in its last quarter to:
“*In a proposal in July, the National Governors’ Association urged the central government to establish measures for co-existing with foreign residents in Japan.*
So far, so good. In-line with the earlier stuff in the article.
*The LDP’s project team is also expected to include in its midterm proposal measures to identify nationalities when allocating public housing or housing provided by the semi-governmental Urban Renaissance Agency.*
Huh? What has this to do with languages? When I came to Japan 21 years ago and got married with my J-wife was Urban Renaissance a life-saver as we couldn’t find a place to live accepting foreigners. **First of all, insure that foreign immigrants are not being discriminated against when coming to Japan when its comes to housing! Oh yeah, while at it, made 礼金, 仲介手数, 更新料, 保証人 and 保証料 illegal across the board** (UR does not require them, hence everybody wants to live in their buildings)**!**
*”The goal is to address the sharp increase in foreign children enrollment in some schools, which has resulted from more foreigners living in public housing.”*
Huh? Do they mean foreign kids living in public housing while being schooled? Or do they mean that the cost of schooling the kids forces foreign households to look for public housing to soften the financial expenses of schooling. If the latter, Japanese households would get hit and deal with the problem the same way. If foreigners doing that are considered a problem, sorry, so should be Japanese households. If the Japanese households doing that are **not** considered a problem, then **neither** should foreign households. If not, what’s the connection? Sorry, don’t get that one?
*”This measure also aims to prevent the improper use of the public assistance system by foreigners, which guarantees a minimum standard of living for low-income households. This would be done by identifying the users’ nationalities and visa types through the national My Number identification cards.”*
Err, Japan wants foreign workers. A lot of them for cheaply paid jobs. These workers would de facto fall into the low-income household category when coming from abroad (i.e. they are poor when coming) and while staying in Japan (i.e. they remain low-income while working in Japan). That part reads like segregate foreign low-income households from Japanese ones…
Verdict: a mess of an article in its last part. The only thing that reads is that when it comes to foreigners in Japan, Japan continues to “want both its cake and eat it”.
The more they will push the envelope, the less appetizing Japan will look to foreigners ready to emigrate.
Okay, so Korea has done this for years I think. In order to be naturalized to Korean you either have to pass a difficult test or have enough hours in the Korean learning program.
The idea is definitely good, but I have no faith on how Japanese will handle this given all their pervious examples.
Not all people come here to stay and requirement for language skills at visa application even before entry is too much,, not to mention classes rather than test scores naturally provide a breeding ground for corruption. So I think it should be done this way:
Languages skills are not need for initial visa applications, and only for those which lead to eventual naturalization or permanent residency at annual renewals with proof of increased proficiency every year finally reaching to near-par level after which permanent status shall be granted. Lags will delay this progress, and failure after a grace period equals to disinterest in settling just like falling short of the required time in the country in the US for example.
Which problem are we trying to solve here?
Except anecdotal evidences of Miller-san not understanding what the SoftBank clerk tells him when buying the latest iPhone, it just strikes me as an additional restriction on foreigners with no net benefits for the society as a whole. It will make Japan less attractive for foreign workforce.
I see a lot of people advocating for foreigners to blend-in and be more Japanese than the Japanese. The Japanese society itself favors integration but ironically will always remind you that you’re a foreigner, for your whole life, even if you speak better Japanese than them.
I’m not against having people learn the language to their heart content but having the government enforces it strikes me as another populist rhetoric to ensure that “we got our foreigner issue under control”, were visa holders, especially long terms ones such as permanent resident, can just live their life just fine without Japanese and fill their other contribution to the society just fine as well.
>They will also discuss the structure of the proposed “pre-school,” where foreign children would acquire basic knowledge, primarily Japanese language skills, before entering Japanese schools.
so, segregation and re-education style brainwashing? epic move.
500 hours (IIRC) of free classes, several locations nationwide, also available online. Actually, I think the 500-hour limit was removed in some places.
Japan can’t complain foreigners not assimilating unless it gets serious about helping them to so, instead of portraying them as nuisances and criminals.
Some idiots will say Japan can’t afford these kinds of services, but it was the same or worse in the Bubble Era when there was plenty of money. Also, money seemed to be no problem spending money on the Olympics, Expo, Maglev etc.
Typing this as I watch Takaishi on TV valiantly defending Japan from the foreign invasion that exists inside her head.
So 100 hour “societal instruction” class on how all garbage is burnable?
this for tourist too ??
Yeah I’m sure this will do really well, like their english education system. Seriously though, can we stop pretending that “protecting the culture” means not learning english. It’s not culture, it’s just lazy.
You should know Japanese if you live in Japan
> The goal is to prevent conflicts between foreign residents and local communities and to curb rising xenophobia by making these lessons a requirement when applying for some visa types.
I’m pretty sure the extreme racist types won’t give a shit either way if you can speak the language and understand the rules and whatnot. Racists are not bound by logic so trying to have a rational and courteous dialogue with them is pointless.
Language classes could help create a smoother transition for newcomers, but let’s make sure they fit into real people’s lives and schedules, not just 9 to 5.
22 comments
That would actually help a lot for newcomers.
I‘ve been advocating that for ages. There are TONS of foreigners in Japan who either completely rely on their spouse for Japanese, don‘t speak at all(single) or just broken, even after DECADES. Those are the ones giving us the reputation of: foreigner problem!!! foreigner don‘t know trash rule!!! help, English!!! (misspelled on purpose)
Japanese aside “and other societal instruction”? What freaking instructions? They will be teaching how to sort that garbage or what? That sounds so dystopia and just pure nihonjin.
Let me guess, the classes will all be from ten am to two pm on weekdays only? That’s what they do in my area, and then complain that foreigners don’t take advantage of the free language and culture classes.
Language competency strikes me as an essential component to a sensible immigration policy. I also think learning and committing to some cultural norms should be included.
I agree whole fully on this
“societal instruction” LOL
Do as we say, not as we do.
This is too vague to be meaningful.
No need for someone being brought on for a medium term contract to have Japanese skills before arrival, and their family will be hanging with other expat families too.
People on spouse visas should need language skills before moving? I don’t think so
Please give me Japanese lessons… happily. But I think giving people some kind of credit towards classes that fit their own schedule would make more sense
The first 3/4 of the article are about cranking up language skills of foreigners then switches in its last quarter to:
“*In a proposal in July, the National Governors’ Association urged the central government to establish measures for co-existing with foreign residents in Japan.*
So far, so good. In-line with the earlier stuff in the article.
*The LDP’s project team is also expected to include in its midterm proposal measures to identify nationalities when allocating public housing or housing provided by the semi-governmental Urban Renaissance Agency.*
Huh? What has this to do with languages? When I came to Japan 21 years ago and got married with my J-wife was Urban Renaissance a life-saver as we couldn’t find a place to live accepting foreigners. **First of all, insure that foreign immigrants are not being discriminated against when coming to Japan when its comes to housing! Oh yeah, while at it, made 礼金, 仲介手数, 更新料, 保証人 and 保証料 illegal across the board** (UR does not require them, hence everybody wants to live in their buildings)**!**
*”The goal is to address the sharp increase in foreign children enrollment in some schools, which has resulted from more foreigners living in public housing.”*
Huh? Do they mean foreign kids living in public housing while being schooled? Or do they mean that the cost of schooling the kids forces foreign households to look for public housing to soften the financial expenses of schooling. If the latter, Japanese households would get hit and deal with the problem the same way. If foreigners doing that are considered a problem, sorry, so should be Japanese households. If the Japanese households doing that are **not** considered a problem, then **neither** should foreign households. If not, what’s the connection? Sorry, don’t get that one?
*”This measure also aims to prevent the improper use of the public assistance system by foreigners, which guarantees a minimum standard of living for low-income households. This would be done by identifying the users’ nationalities and visa types through the national My Number identification cards.”*
Err, Japan wants foreign workers. A lot of them for cheaply paid jobs. These workers would de facto fall into the low-income household category when coming from abroad (i.e. they are poor when coming) and while staying in Japan (i.e. they remain low-income while working in Japan). That part reads like segregate foreign low-income households from Japanese ones…
Verdict: a mess of an article in its last part. The only thing that reads is that when it comes to foreigners in Japan, Japan continues to “want both its cake and eat it”.
The more they will push the envelope, the less appetizing Japan will look to foreigners ready to emigrate.
Okay, so Korea has done this for years I think. In order to be naturalized to Korean you either have to pass a difficult test or have enough hours in the Korean learning program.
The idea is definitely good, but I have no faith on how Japanese will handle this given all their pervious examples.
Not all people come here to stay and requirement for language skills at visa application even before entry is too much,, not to mention classes rather than test scores naturally provide a breeding ground for corruption. So I think it should be done this way:
Languages skills are not need for initial visa applications, and only for those which lead to eventual naturalization or permanent residency at annual renewals with proof of increased proficiency every year finally reaching to near-par level after which permanent status shall be granted. Lags will delay this progress, and failure after a grace period equals to disinterest in settling just like falling short of the required time in the country in the US for example.
Which problem are we trying to solve here?
Except anecdotal evidences of Miller-san not understanding what the SoftBank clerk tells him when buying the latest iPhone, it just strikes me as an additional restriction on foreigners with no net benefits for the society as a whole. It will make Japan less attractive for foreign workforce.
I see a lot of people advocating for foreigners to blend-in and be more Japanese than the Japanese. The Japanese society itself favors integration but ironically will always remind you that you’re a foreigner, for your whole life, even if you speak better Japanese than them.
I’m not against having people learn the language to their heart content but having the government enforces it strikes me as another populist rhetoric to ensure that “we got our foreigner issue under control”, were visa holders, especially long terms ones such as permanent resident, can just live their life just fine without Japanese and fill their other contribution to the society just fine as well.
>They will also discuss the structure of the proposed “pre-school,” where foreign children would acquire basic knowledge, primarily Japanese language skills, before entering Japanese schools.
so, segregation and re-education style brainwashing? epic move.
Free?
This is [what](https://tafeqld.edu.au/courses/course-types/tells/amep) we have had in Australia for decades. Not to get a visa, but to help you integrate.
500 hours (IIRC) of free classes, several locations nationwide, also available online. Actually, I think the 500-hour limit was removed in some places.
This is the free [translation services](https://www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/groups/multicultural/interpreting-translation/accessing) in my state, with 120 languages available for health services. Don’t have the time to check all states, but it appears similar services are available in the ones I did. Also, available for decades.
Then there is [SBS](https://www.sbs.com.au/) broadcasting. Yes, around for decades too.
Japan can’t complain foreigners not assimilating unless it gets serious about helping them to so, instead of portraying them as nuisances and criminals.
Some idiots will say Japan can’t afford these kinds of services, but it was the same or worse in the Bubble Era when there was plenty of money. Also, money seemed to be no problem spending money on the Olympics, Expo, Maglev etc.
Typing this as I watch Takaishi on TV valiantly defending Japan from the foreign invasion that exists inside her head.
So 100 hour “societal instruction” class on how all garbage is burnable?
this for tourist too ??
Yeah I’m sure this will do really well, like their english education system. Seriously though, can we stop pretending that “protecting the culture” means not learning english. It’s not culture, it’s just lazy.
You should know Japanese if you live in Japan
> The goal is to prevent conflicts between foreign residents and local communities and to curb rising xenophobia by making these lessons a requirement when applying for some visa types.
I’m pretty sure the extreme racist types won’t give a shit either way if you can speak the language and understand the rules and whatnot. Racists are not bound by logic so trying to have a rational and courteous dialogue with them is pointless.
Language classes could help create a smoother transition for newcomers, but let’s make sure they fit into real people’s lives and schedules, not just 9 to 5.
Comments are closed.