Commentary
President Joe Biden called Japan “
xenophobic” on May 1. He did so to draw attention to a reason that he apparently believes explains not only Japan’s economic doldrums but also those of Russia, China, and India. President Biden meant well. He wants to strengthen democracies like Japan and India and help them avoid the authoritarian dangers of Russia and China.
But should we really attempt to export that pluralism to a culture like Japan? After all, Japan has a unique global culture that it rightly seeks to preserve. Japan’s ancient history is different from that of the United States, which is more based on the ethnic pluralism and diversity of our far more recent immigration history. We celebrate our own ethnic diversity.
That said, Japan’s population is falling so fast that it could be halved by the end of the century. “Japan has entered an era of full-fledged population decline,” according to
Kuni Miyaki, a member of the country’s Population Strategy Council. “If current trends remain unchanged, the nation’s population is expected to decline by about half from 124 million in 2023 to 63 million by 2100.” That would lead to a downward economic and military spiral for Japan, which already has
9 million vacant homes. That’s enough housing to put a roof over the head of every man, woman, and child in Australia.
While some Japanese may reject an influx of new foreign residents, most believe Japan should open up. An April survey found that
62 percent of Japanese respondents believed more foreigners should be accepted as workers, up from 44 percent in 2018. Foreigners residing in Japan now reach a record 3.4 million, an increase of 10 percent from the prior year. They now represent approximately 2.7 percent of the total Japanese population of 124 million.
It’s true that immigrants can strengthen a country like Japan when they are high-performing workers, investors, and students, adhere to the values of their new nation, and contribute new values, knowledge, or cultures welcomed by the locals. Strong and respectful immigrants who plan to move permanently to their new home strengthen that home with their presence. In a country like Japan, which is suffering from gradual depopulation and
aging, immigrants can be especially important to national economic well-being.
One source of high-quality immigrants could be
China. Wealthy Chinese nationals are leaving China and taking their money and children, hoping for better. A hot new destination is Japan. That could be good for China, Japan, and the world. Starving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of wealth and talent is a two-for-one, or better. It not only reduces the power of the totalitarian and genocidal CCP but strengthens whatever country receives that wealth and talent. And the flows could help Beijing realize that it needs to reform through more marketization, democratization, human rights, and a peaceful approach to neighbors. If all of China’s wealthiest and most talented citizens are voting with their feet by leaving the country, the regime may eventually be forced to get the message.
On the other hand,
Xi Jinping and the CCP see ethnic Chinese abroad as a potential fifth column to be used for political influence in foreign lands. Many in the United States are wary of the tens of thousands of illegal Chinese immigrants flooding our southern border. About
37,000 Chinese illegals were detained in 2023. That’s ten times more than those who were detained in 2022, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. There are no good numbers on how many got away and are currently living in the United States. Yes, illegal Chinese immigrants were only a fraction of the 2.5 million illegals encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol that year.
As in Japan, most are surely immigrating for all the right reasons—more economic opportunity, political freedom, and religious freedom. The worry is that the small fraction who immigrate for the wrong reasons could do immense damage. That, however, is true of whoever conceals their affiliation with Beijing. That could be anyone, as illustrated by former Harvard professor Charles Lieber.
The United States and Japan should obviously be careful not to admit diehard CCP members as legal or illegal entrants. Some could pretend to be pro-United States or pro-Japan as they did after the 1989
Tiananmen Square massacre when a few CCP members hid among outflows of actual pro-democracy Chinese to Australia in the early 1990s, for example.
However, there is an opportunity to assist China’s capital flight and brain drain. Communist China’s loss would be Japan’s gain, which is important in the long-term competition between the two countries. As Japan is arguably America’s most powerful ally in East Asia, a strong Japan also makes the U.S.-led global system more secure. This is particularly important in Asia, where the Chinese regime presents the greatest challenge to U.S. interests and the international rule of law.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
