It's really unfortunate that they have approved these changes. I know at least 7 people that have decided to leave Japan because of it. They were making enough money to support themselves, but under the rule they basically gave no chance of ever reaching that new income requirement. Some jobs just don't have that much upward financial mobility. Which is fine if you live outside the city without a large family, but these rules are harsh to anyone that isn't working a high pay job. Permanent recidency would have allowed them to work outside their visa category, easily start a business, and utilize their Japanese language skills in a larger market.

Its quite a shock since historically the government has moved extremely slow when implementing policies that have a large impact. But the last 6 months have been extremely anxiety inducing with a new immigration change being announced and approved every month.

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PorciiVorbesc 2 hours ago | parent [-]

>I know at least 7 people that have decided to leave Japan because of it.

Wouldn't that make the Japanese locals happy as that means (in theory) 7 new job vacancies and 7 more free homes on the market for them?

Even if that's not exactly how this works in practice, if that's how voters see it, then they will support it.

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famahar 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A politician can spin it that way sure, despite foreigners owning 0.12 percent of property and most foreigner jobs (at least the ones my friends have) requiring fluent English. It's not a threat to Japanese people, but with the right populist figure, anything can sound like a threat. What I find so sad about this is the lack of empathy for people that worked hard to build a life here, paid their taxes, and followed the law. They did nothing wrong, but are the targets of a population primed to take their economic woes and anger out on people simply living their life peacefully.

	▲	zergrush an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Shitty situation I'm sure but no matter how you spin it or complain its shouting into the void. Whether there was real plus or minus ultimately as you pointed out make up a very microscopic fraction of Japanese economy and priority from the Japanese point of view, who's voice almost always override those of foreigners. It would be nice for everybody to be happy but its clear Japanese who are the rightful owners of the land are not, and thus they have a right to vote and through consensus decide on what they perceive to be best for their national interests. Maybe it's good for them maybe it's not but it won't be heard like all the comments here including mine or visible to real Japanese people living in Japan.
	▲	PorciiVorbesc 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		>They did nothing wrong, but are the targets of a population primed to take their economic woes and anger out on people simply living their life peacefully. If you check out history books, you'll be surprised(or not) by how often that happens. >What I find so sad about this is the lack of empathy for people that worked hard to build a life here, paid their taxes, and followed the law. Economic hardships and scarcity will turn everyone into animals. Every society, even the most kind, peaceful and orderly is only 3 missing meals away from killing each other for the last piece of bread. Except before killing each other, they'll first kill foreigners. Story as old as time.

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anigbrowl an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

(in theory) 7 new job vacancies and 7 more free homes

No. Japan already has low unemployment and high overtime demands due to worker shortages, and property is already cheap (even in most cities other than Tokyo) due to a combination of falling population, complex construction/demolition codes, changing lifestyles, and a different view of asset classes/investment practices from the US.

It's kinda like how nobody likes inflation (other than certain kinds of debtors) but a deflationary economy isn't a good solution to that problem. This will have a similar effect because the people leaving are likely to be the most culturally assimilated/affiliated with decent language skills etc., but their departure won't alleviate the demand for additional labor in industry and agriculture so there will probably still be a net increase in short-term and illegal foreign residency.