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Should Japan change its employment policy and immigration?
Japan should also expand its open policy to all professions. Hourly wages are low, the cost of living is increasing, and there is class discrimination in jobs. They should also change immigration and citizenship policies to integrate with the world. Many people come to Japan to work, but many leave as well. Those who leave seek higher wages, a healthier society, quality of life, and easier settlement. The birth rate has dropped to a record low, and rural areas are aging. It's a society covered in darkness. Japan is aging and slowly dying due to the government's sluggishness, conservatism, and rigidity. It's too terrible.
What do you think about this issue? Is Japan a place to work or to travel to? If things don't improve, I will leave Japan.
I've been here 12 years and watched three waves of friends cycle through the tokutei programs. The ones who thrived were the ones who treated it as a stepping stone, not a career. There's a group of Filipina care workers in my building who used the program to get certified, then jumped to a hospital in Shinjuku that pays them directly instead of through a broker. That's the real trick, finding an employer who's not using the program as a loophole.
The mediocrity you mentioned is real but I'd argue it's more about corporate culture than immigration policy. I've worked at a Japanese company and a gaishikei, and the difference is night and day. At the Japanese firm, the smartest guy in the room was a Chinese engineer who still couldn't get a permanent contract after 8 years. He left for a fintech in Singapore and doubled his salary. That kind of talent drain is what's actually killing the country, not the birth rate.
For what it's worth, I know a British chef who got permanent residency in under 3 years through the highly skilled professional visa. It's not easy, you need 70 points and a company that actually knows how to fill out the paperwork, but it exists. Most people just don't know about it because the immigration bureau doesn't exactly advertise.
the internship program is definitely broken, i've seen it at a logistics warehouse in edogawa where the "trainees" were just doing regular work for 3 years straight with no real skill transfer. the thing is, japan's labor shortage is so bad in places like fukuoka and nagoya that even if they abolished tokutei tomorrow, companies would just find another loophole. the real fix would be enforcing the labor standards act properly so everyone gets the same minimum protections regardless of visa type.
the citizenship thing is wild though, i know a canadian teacher who's been here 12 years, pays taxes, has a japanese wife and kid, and they still make him renew his visa every 3 years. meanwhile a friend from the UK got PR in 18 months through the highly skilled professional route because he had a phd and a 10 million yen salary at a tech company in roppongi. the system clearly favors certain profiles over others.
if you're staying, look into the "specialist in humanities" visa instead of the general work visa, it gives you more flexibility to change jobs. also the new J-Find visa for recent grads is actually decent, lets you stay 2 years to look for work. the problem is most people don't know these options exist because the immigration website is a nightmare to navigate.
yeah the tokutei system is a mess but i think the bigger structural problem is that japan's whole labor market is built on the idea of "lifetime employment" for japanese men and everyone else is just a buffer. the internship program was literally designed as a aid program for developing countries but companies just treat it as a cheap labor pipeline
the thing about wages that people miss is that japan's productivity per hour is actually pretty good but the distribution is awful. a convenience store worker here makes 1050 yen but in osaka i saw a mcdonalds hiring at 1030 while the same job in seoul pays 9860 won which is like 1100 yen after conversion. the gap isnt that huge but the cost of living difference is brutal
if you want to stay, the play is to get out of the standard japanese company system entirely. look for jobs at foreign schools, embassies, or even remote work for companies back home. i know a guy who works for a US startup from his apartment in nakameguro and makes 3x what his japanese neighbors do. the immigration system is a headache but if you can get a highly skilled visa theres a fast track to PR now
honestly the country isnt dying as fast as people say online, its just changing. the birth rate is bad but tokyo is actually growing because young people move there from the countryside. the real question is whether the
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.