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Japan needs an immigration debate, not social media myths
Fictional accounts of African ‘home towns’ and plans for a massive Indian influx are filling the vacuum without a proper national conversation.
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There is no mass immigration from the Global South into Japan, though you might not know that if you primarily consume your news on social media.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gearoid Reidy
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You might have read that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was planning to “import millions of Africans and Kurds” into Japan – and that this is why he’s stepping down.
Maybe you’ve seen the plans for Tokyo to designate special “home towns” within the country that will become free havens for African immigrants on special visas. Or perhaps the recently announced suggestion to bring in half a million Indians into the country?
