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Immigrants in Japan taking a little break ...

From the Japan Times:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110317a3.html

Quote:

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Thousands swamp immigration

By MIZUHO AOKI

Staff writer

Spooked by the radiation leak at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, thousands of people this week have been applying for re-entry permits in preparation for evacuation from Japan.

Safer at home: Foreign nationals line up at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward on Wednesday. Most sought a re-entry permit so they can go home and return to Japan when the situation is safe.

On Wednesday, the number of applicants at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau appeared to surpass the nearly 5,000 who lined up Tuesday, according to a bureau official.

"I arrived here at around 9:30 a.m. And there already was a long line," said a 20-something Chinese student who only gave his last name, Ouyang. "My friend told me it's going to take five or six hours to reach the application counter, so I came here expecting to wait that long."

Ouyang said he decided to head back to his home country at the urging of his worried parents back in China. He has no idea when he will return.

"I listened to Prime Minister Naoto Kan's speech yesterday, and also to other government officials' announcements, but nothing seems to be trustworthy," he said. "I'm not sure if they are telling the truth."

A 44-year-old Chinese woman also expressed concern about the disaster at the nuclear power plant.

"I can't go back to China because all the flights heading to China are fully booked. But just to prepare, I came here today," said Lin Qiuping, who arrived at the bureau at around 8:30 a.m. but still had no idea how much longer it would take after waiting already for four hours.

"Many want to go back (to their home countries), out of fear of radiation leakage," Qiuping said.

She also said she doesn't trust information from the government regarding the nuclear plant.

"I wonder if all the truth has been told in news reports. Watching TV these past couple of days, I just can't trust the news," said Qiuping, who was in line with her friend.

Syed H. Ahmed, an engineer from Bangladesh, said he also came to the bureau to get a re-entry permit in case the situation worsens.

"I don't have any plan so far to go back to Bangladesh. But all my friends from Bangladesh already got re-entry permits, so I decided to get one myself," said Ahmed, who has been living in Japan for 2 1/2 years.

"I'm not worrying about earthquakes. What worries me is about the Fukushima crisis," Ahmed said.

A South Korean family in line had already booked seats on a flight departing Narita on Thursday.

"We are afraid of radiation rather than aftershocks," said a 45-year-old South Korean, who only gave his last name, Yang.

"We hear about the Fukushima nuclear power plant every day. But I don't know if what we are hearing is the truth," said Yang, who was with his wife and a daughter.

The Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau Wednesday also began accepting inquiries about whether foreigners registered in Disaster Relief Act-applicable areas in Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures are still in Japan.

To make an inquiry, the nationality, name, birth date, sex and address of both applicant and foreigner must be provided.

For more info, contact the Immigration Bureau at (03) 3592-8120. Inquiries are accepted Monday through Friday between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Inquiries can also be sent by fax at (03) 3592-7368 or by e-mail: nyukan44@moj.go.jp

I was a little confused about the basic news item here, "Spooked by the radiation leak at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, thousands of people this week have been applying for re-entry permits in preparation for evacuation from Japan."

Why would anyone need a re-entry permit to leave Japan? But of course the re-entry permit is for when they want to come back. They don't want to leave unless they can come back when things get comfortable again. This represents the soul of immigration in the world today. It is the license and leisure to come and go to any part of the planet where things are a little better. You come when they are better and you leave if they get worse. These people didn't ever give a crap about Japan, they just wanted something that Japan had. Now that Japan is threatened they flee and so naked is their avarice that they won't even flee unless they have some assurance of being able to come back when things get better.

More news on immigration and the earthquake disaster in Japan,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...t-expats-leave

From that link:

Quote:

....

The consulate had announced it would lay on buses for British nationals and the other foreigners who had endured a week like no other in history, with a massive earthquake, devastating tsunami, catastrophic failure of nuclear reactors, and worsening shortages of fuel and food.

"We've had a week of no water, no kerosene, so we stink and we're cold. There is no transportation so we feel our options closing," said Paul Harris, who had lived in Sendai for 20 years, and was leaving with his Japanese partner, Kayoko Ono. "It hurts to leave. This is home and we will be back. If it weren't for the problems at the power plant, things would get back to normal here. But officials don't seem confident it will go well."

Such inconveniences pale beside the suffering of the 430,000 Japanese refugees made homeless by the tsunami. Many of them are huddled in temporary shelters with poor sanitation, little food and insufficient blankets and heating despite plunging outdoor temperatures.

But fears of radioactivity and worsening shortages have prompted many countries to advise their citizens in north Japan to leave. Some are organising evacuations from near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

China has already withdrawn its nationals. The US, Canada and Australia are expected to do the same.

....

Some immigrants are clearly organized at different levels than others and are not lining up for re-entry permits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twoller (Post 14756)

From the Japan Times:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0110317a3.html

I was a little confused about the basic news item here, "Spooked by the radiation leak at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, thousands of people this week have been applying for re-entry permits in preparation for evacuation from Japan."

Why would anyone need a re-entry permit to leave Japan? But of course the re-entry permit is for when they want to come back. They don't want to leave unless they can come back when things get comfortable again. This represents the soul of immigration in the world today. It is the license and leisure to come and go to any part of the planet where things are a little better. You come when they are better and you leave if they get worse. These people didn't ever give a crap about Japan, they just wanted something that Japan had. Now that Japan is threatened they flee and so naked is their avarice that they won't even flee unless they have some assurance of being able to come back when things get better.

I think you may be confusing immigrants to Japan, with migrant workers or temporary workers to Japan. Japan does not permit liberal immigration like the US does, so the majority of these people in the article are not pledging themselves to the country, nor could they. When Japan doesn't need them anymore, they can be told to leave. Not that they shouldn't be greatful anyway, but there is little in the way of incentive beyond a paycheck for them

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayatollahgondola (Post 14773)

Then why the re-entry permits?

I've posted articles about immigration problems in Japan before. It does have an immigration problem. There is the same rot there about allowing non-citizens to vote. There are serious national security problems because of North Koreans. And also, they insist on being educated in special schools like they are in North Korea. The Japanese suffer just like we do by being forced to act as a population relief valve for high birth rate countries like the Phillipines, and I'm guessing, China. And they hear the same lame pronouncements we do about how they are not reproducing fast enough to take care of themselves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twoller (Post 14777)

I'll admit I know very little about Japan and their immigration issues. I do gather that they have a population problem though, because you see alot of people in a very small area. I doubt they have a reproduction problem that they could not solve...if they actually wanted to. They might just be of a mindset that doesn't sign on to the theory that growth in numbers is prosperity. Unfortunately, the rest of the gene pool out there doesn't consider restraint an avenue worthy of considering.
The temporary workers though, have no long term stake in the country if they cannot become a citizen, so it's no wonder that they go when the going gets tough, and come back when it's rosy

This one's old... UC Davis 1997

Quote:

More than 1,070 illegal immigrants have been arrested in Japan since January, compared with 679 in all of 1996. The National Police Agency reports that 90 percent of the illegal immigrants arrested were Chinese, most from Fujian Province.

More... http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=1373_0_3_0

2004 BBC

Quote:

Japanese authorities say there are 250,000 illegal immigrants, the majority of whom entered the country on a temporary visa and over-stayed. Many of these people are thought to work as unskilled labourers.

More... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3708098.stm

Quote:

Japan introduces ID cards to sniff out illegal immigrants

By Alice Kok | 2 March 2009

More... http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2...llegal-immigr/

2010

Quote:

Japan’s Ministry of Justice issued a reported stating that illegal immigrant numbers had dropped below 100,000 as of the beginning of 2010, a 21 year low.

According to a March 9th Ministry press release, based on computerized data of Japanese border entries and exits, approximately 91,778 foreign visitors are staying illegally within the country as of January 1st, 2010. The number is down 18.8% compared with 2009, and more than 50% lower than the number in 2006 when there were an estimated 193,745 violators.

According to a report from Press Net Japan, the last time the illegal immigrant numbers were below 100,000 was back in 1989. The number had reached a peak of over 300,000 by 1993, followed with a slow decline up until the sharp fall over the past few years.

The Ministry of Justice revealed that currently, the majority of illegal immigrants have come from other Asian countries. Top offenders include Korea (23.6%), China (14.1%), and the Philippines (14.0%). Others countries listed included: Thailand, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. However, 25.8% of all violators were from countries not listed in the report.

The majority (68.8%) of illegal immigrants had come to Japan on short-term stay visas. The number of male offenders is only slightly that above female, at 46,324 men to 45,454 women, respectively.

News reports indicated that the recent drop in illegal immigrant numbers may be in part due an increase in border security systems, including the adoption in late 2007 of the requirement for finger prints and photos upon entry into the country. There have also reportedly been an increasing number of cases where those who have illegally stayed beyond their visa terms have left voluntarily.

In similar news, the number of cases of both entry refusals and deportations in Japan had also decreased over the past year.

http://www.examiner.com/japan-headli...an-21-year-low

2011

Quote:

Why There Aren't Many Illegal Immigrants In Japan

..."There is little urban anonymity. When I first lived in Japan on a work visa and had my own apartment in a residential neighborhood of Tokyo, in 1971, I was paid a friendly visit by a local policeman. It was a completely routine matter: police are required to keep track of every resident of their beats, and they want to know the basics, such as your work, your age, and your living circumstances. In my circumstances, immigration papers were also of concern, but for Japanese, it would be the koseki, a mandatory official family record kept on a household basis, reporting births, acknowledgements of paternity, adoptions, disruptions of adoptions, deaths, marriages and divorces. Every Japanese is not just an individual, he or she is officially is a member of a household (ie), and the state keeps track."...

More... http://ukcommentators.blogspot.com/2...mmigrants.html

2006

Quote:

Hard Work, Furtive Living - Illegal Immigrants in Japan

...A ski cap pulled low to conceal her wavy brown hair, Luz Martinez stands near Kawasaki Station, hoping to avoid any appearance of loitering in the busy terminal regularly staked out by Japanese immigration officials.

After 11 years of illegal work in low-paid jobs, Martinez has become adept at blending in with the crowd. She is one of an estimated 220,000 illegal migrants who live in Japan, most of them workers from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Latin America. ...

...Once in Japan, illegal immigrants face further barriers. Martinez, from Lima, Peru, was promised a "good job" in Japan by a friend of a friend. Although she had paid a broker $1,000, that job never materialized. With persistence, she found work packing frozen fish in Nagoya...

...Martinez has held 13 jobs in 11 years here...

more... http://www.globalenvision.org/library/3/986

Somewhat off subject, but interesting read:

Quote:

Why The Japanese Aren't Looting
By Thomas Lifson

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/...t_looting.html