It makes sense to me. Proficiency doesn’t take years, it takes an earnest effort and interest.
waterjaguar on
domo arigato
MrX101 on
why wasn’t it already a requirement?
Onehundredyearsold on
Makes you wonder why it is considered racist to require English proficiency in the USA.
namotous on
Common sense
Kind_Focus5839 on
Sure, what level?
WrongHomework7916 on
Learn English or leave USA 😡😤🤬👎🏻
Learn Japanese or leave Japan 🌸🥰🌺👍🏻
Bevrykul on
Honestly? That is a fair requirement.
Ok-Medium-6809 on
Why wouldn’t you want to learn the language of the country you’re permanently migrating to?
No-Land-7389 on
Say this about America and English and all of a sudden your a bigot.
HeyItsMeMrBoss on
I’m surprised with how culturally seclusive Japan is, that this wasn’t already a thing.
At the same time, I don’t really think without a proper pathway, Japan is doing anything more than yelling at a cloud and blaming foreigners for problems. They’re losing population.
Given the circumstances, they should know better just from looking at us in America.
motherseffinjones on
I can understand why they would want that
Ctka00 on
Seems like something that should have been a requirement already. If you cannot understand signs or emergency warnings in a country, you probably shouldn’t be there especially to live there long term.
skumancer on
Italy did the same. I think it’s fine
Trashy_Panda2024 on
Taiwan it is then.
Foreign_Recipe8300 on
let’s make it harder for people to come here says country facing a population decline “crisis”
hyperblaster on
Mostly like these rules, but ten years to get permanent residency is quite high. Five years is much more reasonable.
andoke on
We in Canada require proficiency in English or French for Permanent Residency as well. Not something unusual.
Packagedpackage on
What about those of us who are deaf??
aro-n on
Okay, people.
If you are desperately in need of foreign workers and constantly complaining about your shrinking workforce and dying towns, and if foreigners have married into your culture or have been living and working—paying taxes into your dying country—then you really shouldn’t give a shit about the language.
Most foreigners can get by with daily Japanese. You don’t need N1 to order McDonald’s and do construction. 60% of foreigners in Japan are in food service, construction, hospitality, child and elderly care and other jobs Japanese won’t do because the pay is shit.
You don’t get to beg workers to come to Japan, pay them shit, and then treat them like shit, and expect them to keep coming.
Japanese is one of the hardest languages in the world. Many Japanese people even get N1 questions wrong.
And, finally, we all know this is cowtowing to anti-foreigner resentment. They are trying to make it as hard as possible to live in the country to look tough on immigration, but they still want poor SEA people and gullible Westerners to come, build their roads and take care of their aging population and raise their children in eikawas for shit pay for a few years and kick them out.
Does it make sense now why this is bullshit?
shadowromantic on
Why do they think there’ll be more applicants?
vagabond_nerd on
I lived there for awhile. It’s an extremely complex language with three variations of the alphabet and formal/informal ways of saying nearly everything. For everyone saying “why didn’t they do it already?” Lots of caretakers and ESL teachers marry Japanese citizens then wish to become permanent residents later on. They may not be completely fluent but can get by day to day just fine even doing paperwork and such. But you can be assured, whatever test they designed for this would be incredibly difficult for most people that are not Japanese language experts.
The reality is their country like many right now are shifting to an anti-immigrant stance because the economy is not doing well and the elderly politicians don’t offer real solutions. They find a fake solution like “blame the foreigners.” Look at the patterns of history, scapegoats are usually the least powerful and an easy propaganda tool especially in times of economic hardship where the greediest at the top are typically to blame. I love Japan but the far-right party there has gained more seats recently so these new policies aren’t a surprise.
DMercenary on
It.. .Wasnt already?
DornishFox on
I live in Japan and speak Japanese in my work every day. I have no problem with this in theory. Currently there is no easy way to evaluate “Japanese language proficiency”. There are a variety of tests/exams you can take but none of them evaluate speaking ability which is arguably the most important skill in my opinion. Implementing this requirement without having a clear path to test proficiency doesn’t make sense so I hope that if it gets implemented they clarify and don’t just leave it to random chance (like how 1-5 years visas are currently given out with zero transparency).
Subaru10101 on
Yeah if you live long term in a country, you should know the language enough that you can converse, read, and write in it proficiently.
Frostsorrow on
While not an unusual ask for granting permanent residency, all this tightening of restrictions and additions of new ones on a country that already has famously low birthrates and near 0 immigration makes me wonder how they will handle the future with nearly no children and no immigration.
Unicorn_Puppy on
That’s actually common globally.
A friend of mine recently migrated to the Netherlands and one of the first things they tell you first thing is you’re expected to learn the language and become fluent in it, I’m positive more European nations have similar rules too.
Tempires on
Okay but probably won’t help with decreasing population.
LesDoodus on
TIL you dont need to speak Japanese to be a PR. Long time coming IMO
Choke1982 on
My brain read the title and understood that Japanese eyes were going to be a requirement for PR. I need my holidays now!
ShapeShifter499 on
I wonder how this might work in a future with universal translators. Maybe the laws change again?
repdetec_revisited on
That seems pretty super fucking reasonable.
Sanguiluna on
I’m actually surprised this isn’t already a thing for them, given how prudent they usually are regarding immigration.
Yummy_Castoreum on
Because people are falling all over themselves to move to the world’s most xenophobic country, where they will *never* be accepted?
DivideByGodError on
“Yeah, duhdoi, you should speak the language if you live in Japan!” is all I’m seeing here. I don’t even disagree with that, I find it shocking that some people are even able to live here for 5-10+ years without knowing anything but the most rudimentary Japanese. But I know some of them personally, and they are perfectly fine people who contribute to society and pay taxes like the rest of us and have families and productive lives.
That aside, the concerning part of this has nothing to do with whether someone should or should not study the language, but the ever-increasing restrictions being placed on foreigners, visas, permanent residency, citizenship, etc. Little by little, they are doing everything they can to make it harder to live here. There’s a very high-and-mighty vibe in this comment section from people who say “whatevs, it doesn’t affect me, I’m one of the good gaijin that studied Japanese”, and it seems to me people are missing the point that they should be concerned about. This is just one more step in a consistent direction.
Also, how do they implement this? What constitutes proficiency in the eyes of these people who clearly want to make it difficult for us and can arbitrarily make the rules as they go? I consider myself reasonably fluent in most situations, but the more I know, the more I know how much I don’t know. Am I immediately confident I can pass any Japanese test thrown my way? Absolutely not. Does this mean they require us to take JLPT now? It’s a bullshit test that doesn’t indicate fluency, so what else you got? This is just an additional roadblock to filter out a foreigner problem that doesn’t actually exist.
Tinnylemur on
They should.
Doesn’t make sense to live ina country where you cant speak the native language. No way to assimilate even if you want to.
afici0nad0 on
Makes sense. Why wouldnt you want to become proficient in the language of the country you want to live in?
demon13664674 on
nothing unsual if you want to live in a nation you have to learn its language.
Nomeg_Stylus on
People with any kind of critical thinking skills should see this is no different than literacy tests to vote. It will *only* be applied to undesirables. Heck, even now, I was able to get my PR in a month while some people have their applications stuck in the approving phase for a year or more. What’s the difference? I’m from America. The other dude was from India. This is another far right response that doesn’t address the issue. Kicking some Zimbabweans out of Iwate or wherever isn’t gonna drop the price of rice, but it makes racists feel better.
40 Comments
Makes sense
It makes sense to me. Proficiency doesn’t take years, it takes an earnest effort and interest.
domo arigato
why wasn’t it already a requirement?
Makes you wonder why it is considered racist to require English proficiency in the USA.
Common sense
Sure, what level?
Learn English or leave USA 😡😤🤬👎🏻
Learn Japanese or leave Japan 🌸🥰🌺👍🏻
Honestly? That is a fair requirement.
Why wouldn’t you want to learn the language of the country you’re permanently migrating to?
Say this about America and English and all of a sudden your a bigot.
I’m surprised with how culturally seclusive Japan is, that this wasn’t already a thing.
At the same time, I don’t really think without a proper pathway, Japan is doing anything more than yelling at a cloud and blaming foreigners for problems. They’re losing population.
Given the circumstances, they should know better just from looking at us in America.
I can understand why they would want that
Seems like something that should have been a requirement already. If you cannot understand signs or emergency warnings in a country, you probably shouldn’t be there especially to live there long term.
Italy did the same. I think it’s fine
Taiwan it is then.
let’s make it harder for people to come here says country facing a population decline “crisis”
Mostly like these rules, but ten years to get permanent residency is quite high. Five years is much more reasonable.
We in Canada require proficiency in English or French for Permanent Residency as well. Not something unusual.
What about those of us who are deaf??
Okay, people.
If you are desperately in need of foreign workers and constantly complaining about your shrinking workforce and dying towns, and if foreigners have married into your culture or have been living and working—paying taxes into your dying country—then you really shouldn’t give a shit about the language.
Most foreigners can get by with daily Japanese. You don’t need N1 to order McDonald’s and do construction. 60% of foreigners in Japan are in food service, construction, hospitality, child and elderly care and other jobs Japanese won’t do because the pay is shit.
You don’t get to beg workers to come to Japan, pay them shit, and then treat them like shit, and expect them to keep coming.
Japanese is one of the hardest languages in the world. Many Japanese people even get N1 questions wrong.
And, finally, we all know this is cowtowing to anti-foreigner resentment. They are trying to make it as hard as possible to live in the country to look tough on immigration, but they still want poor SEA people and gullible Westerners to come, build their roads and take care of their aging population and raise their children in eikawas for shit pay for a few years and kick them out.
Does it make sense now why this is bullshit?
Why do they think there’ll be more applicants?
I lived there for awhile. It’s an extremely complex language with three variations of the alphabet and formal/informal ways of saying nearly everything. For everyone saying “why didn’t they do it already?” Lots of caretakers and ESL teachers marry Japanese citizens then wish to become permanent residents later on. They may not be completely fluent but can get by day to day just fine even doing paperwork and such. But you can be assured, whatever test they designed for this would be incredibly difficult for most people that are not Japanese language experts.
The reality is their country like many right now are shifting to an anti-immigrant stance because the economy is not doing well and the elderly politicians don’t offer real solutions. They find a fake solution like “blame the foreigners.” Look at the patterns of history, scapegoats are usually the least powerful and an easy propaganda tool especially in times of economic hardship where the greediest at the top are typically to blame. I love Japan but the far-right party there has gained more seats recently so these new policies aren’t a surprise.
It.. .Wasnt already?
I live in Japan and speak Japanese in my work every day. I have no problem with this in theory. Currently there is no easy way to evaluate “Japanese language proficiency”. There are a variety of tests/exams you can take but none of them evaluate speaking ability which is arguably the most important skill in my opinion. Implementing this requirement without having a clear path to test proficiency doesn’t make sense so I hope that if it gets implemented they clarify and don’t just leave it to random chance (like how 1-5 years visas are currently given out with zero transparency).
Yeah if you live long term in a country, you should know the language enough that you can converse, read, and write in it proficiently.
While not an unusual ask for granting permanent residency, all this tightening of restrictions and additions of new ones on a country that already has famously low birthrates and near 0 immigration makes me wonder how they will handle the future with nearly no children and no immigration.
That’s actually common globally.
A friend of mine recently migrated to the Netherlands and one of the first things they tell you first thing is you’re expected to learn the language and become fluent in it, I’m positive more European nations have similar rules too.
Okay but probably won’t help with decreasing population.
TIL you dont need to speak Japanese to be a PR. Long time coming IMO
My brain read the title and understood that Japanese eyes were going to be a requirement for PR. I need my holidays now!
I wonder how this might work in a future with universal translators. Maybe the laws change again?
That seems pretty super fucking reasonable.
I’m actually surprised this isn’t already a thing for them, given how prudent they usually are regarding immigration.
Because people are falling all over themselves to move to the world’s most xenophobic country, where they will *never* be accepted?
“Yeah, duhdoi, you should speak the language if you live in Japan!” is all I’m seeing here. I don’t even disagree with that, I find it shocking that some people are even able to live here for 5-10+ years without knowing anything but the most rudimentary Japanese. But I know some of them personally, and they are perfectly fine people who contribute to society and pay taxes like the rest of us and have families and productive lives.
That aside, the concerning part of this has nothing to do with whether someone should or should not study the language, but the ever-increasing restrictions being placed on foreigners, visas, permanent residency, citizenship, etc. Little by little, they are doing everything they can to make it harder to live here. There’s a very high-and-mighty vibe in this comment section from people who say “whatevs, it doesn’t affect me, I’m one of the good gaijin that studied Japanese”, and it seems to me people are missing the point that they should be concerned about. This is just one more step in a consistent direction.
Also, how do they implement this? What constitutes proficiency in the eyes of these people who clearly want to make it difficult for us and can arbitrarily make the rules as they go? I consider myself reasonably fluent in most situations, but the more I know, the more I know how much I don’t know. Am I immediately confident I can pass any Japanese test thrown my way? Absolutely not. Does this mean they require us to take JLPT now? It’s a bullshit test that doesn’t indicate fluency, so what else you got? This is just an additional roadblock to filter out a foreigner problem that doesn’t actually exist.
They should.
Doesn’t make sense to live ina country where you cant speak the native language. No way to assimilate even if you want to.
Makes sense. Why wouldnt you want to become proficient in the language of the country you want to live in?
nothing unsual if you want to live in a nation you have to learn its language.
People with any kind of critical thinking skills should see this is no different than literacy tests to vote. It will *only* be applied to undesirables. Heck, even now, I was able to get my PR in a month while some people have their applications stuck in the approving phase for a year or more. What’s the difference? I’m from America. The other dude was from India. This is another far right response that doesn’t address the issue. Kicking some Zimbabweans out of Iwate or wherever isn’t gonna drop the price of rice, but it makes racists feel better.