JAPAN'S Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Saturday that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an ageing population, should make itself more attractive to migrants.
Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Mr Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a 'sensitive issue'. But he said that as well as introducing pro-family policies, Japan should attempt to encourage migrants to live and work there.
'I think Japan should also make itself a country attractive to people so that more and more people, including tourists, hope to visit Japan, hope to live and work in Japan,' he said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.
'I am not sure if I can call this 'immigration policy', but what's important is to create an environment that is friendly to people all around the world so that they voluntarily live in Japan,' he said.
Japan has relatively few resident foreigners, although in recent years it has cautiously opened up its job market to nurses and care workers from some South-east Asian countries.
Its population has been shrinking since 2005. Despite efforts to raise the birth rate, a woman's average number of offspring now hovers around 1.3, well below the 2.07 needed to maintain the population.
WE ARE ALL ONE FAMILY.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment