Fluent in Japanese but Unable to Live in Japan? A Strange Contradiction in Japan’s Immigration System

The other day, I heard something rather surprising while watching YouTube.

One of the people in the video was a foreign national who spoke remarkably fluent Japanese. He knew Japanese culture well, and if you listened only to the conversation, he sounded almost indistinguishable from a Japanese person.

Yet he said that he had once been required, because of his visa status, to return to his home country once every three months.

He now appears to live in Japan, but I was surprised that someone with such excellent Japanese who had adapted so well to Japanese society had struggled because of his immigration status.

Hearing his story reminded me of a Chinese friend from my university days.

Without a Job, He Had No Choice but to Leave Japan

I had a Chinese friend at university.

He spoke Japanese without difficulty and had no problems with life in Japan. As graduation approached, however, he became extremely anxious.

He had not found a job.

Once his student status of residence expired, he could not simply continue living in Japan. There is a system that permits international graduates to continue job hunting after graduation, but naturally, it has conditions and time limits.

He searched desperately for an employer.

Fortunately, he eventually secured a position at a Japanese company and was able to remain in the country.

But I still remember how anxious he was at the time.

He had lived in Japan for years and spoke Japanese without difficulty. Even so, if he could not find a job, he might have to leave the country.

I can understand the logic of the system, but it still seems very strange.

Does Japan Want Workers More Than People Who Speak Japanese?

This brings to mind Japan’s foreign technical interns.

Under the Technical Intern Training Program, foreign nationals with limited Japanese ability have also come to Japan to work.

Incidentally, despite being called a “training” program, it has no concrete educational curriculum. In practice, participants are simply sent into workplaces suffering from labor shortages.

For this reason, some critics describe it as a form of “modern-day slavery.”

Even so, the reality presents a strange contrast.

A foreign national who speaks fluent Japanese and has fully adapted to Japanese society struggles with immigration status.

Meanwhile, someone who cannot yet communicate adequately in Japanese can enter the country if they fit into a program designed for work.

The institutional category a person fits into matters more than how well they have adapted to Japanese society.

Does that not seem backward?

Japan actively debates the acceptance of foreign workers. We often hear that the country needs them because of labor shortages.

If so, it would seem reasonable to place greater value on people who have already learned Japanese and become accustomed to life in Japan.

Residency Status Looks at “Activities,” Not People

Ultimately, Japan’s status-of-residence system places more importance on “what a person will do in Japan” than on how well that person has adapted to Japanese society.

A student is someone who studies. A company employee is someone who works.

When that activity ends, the person must qualify for another status or meet a new set of conditions.

As an administrative system, this is probably rational.

But human lives cannot be divided into such neat categories.

After living in Japan for years, people make friends and establish the foundations of their lives. Their Japanese improves as well.

Even so, if graduation or unemployment changes the conditions of their status of residence, the life they have built can suddenly become unstable.

Of course, I am not arguing that anyone who speaks Japanese well should automatically receive permanent residence.

But I do think there should be a system that gives greater weight to language ability and adaptation to Japanese society when residency decisions are made.

Does Japan Want “Foreign Talent” or Merely “Foreign Labor”?

For years, Japan has expanded its acceptance of foreign nationals in response to labor shortages.

But when I look at the system, it becomes clear that Japan has little intention of accepting foreigners as members of Japanese society and instead sees them merely as a source of labor.

People who have learned Japanese, understood Japanese culture, and lived in the country for years struggle with their immigration status.

At the same time, Japan tries to bring in new foreign workers for industries facing labor shortages.

The system seems better equipped to accept new people arriving for work than to retain those who have already adapted to life in Japan.

My Chinese friend from university might have had to leave Japan if he had not found a job.

Even though he spoke Japanese and was accustomed to life in the country.

In the end, does Japan want foreign nationals who can become part of Japanese society? Or does it want foreigners who will simply perform the work assigned to them?

Apparently, having all your residency paperwork properly arranged matters more to living in Japan than actually becoming part of Japanese society.