Quote:
Originally Posted by GTJ
That's okay, immigration isn't even what I was thinking about when I said it. Sure, it would be nice to not have to go through this hell to get a visa, but it's the same--and sometimes worse--for every other country. It's to be expected. What I was thinking of was more the process of living in Japan, like how the government treats/doesn't treat us. One example is the new gaijin cards with a scannable computer chip so a policeman can pick out all the gaijin in a crowd. Another example is police being taught that gaijin commit up to 90% of all the crimes in any given area, and are trained to go out and stop random foreigners for questioning/harassment.
Actually... the only problems I think I have is with the police. Hm. I've experienced this first hand, so when I see the cops roll by I can't help but feel my lip curl a bit. There's a lot of power tripping going on, in all levels of government in Japan.
Other than that there doesn't seem to be much going on in regards to foreigners in Japan in a positive light. It's all just about punishing the illegal immigrants and all that. And how about that new law about national health care and renewing visas?
We're now required to pay into national healthcare AND pension. Plus, if you've been in Japan however many years or so, I'm not sure, but don't you have to pay BACK pension? On top of that, foreigners are only entitled to withdrawl 3 years' worth, if you apply for it two years ahead of time. So it only really helps you if you plan to stay in Japan the rest of your life, and completely screws you out of a large portion of your salary if you don't.
So in a way I guess foreigners coming to Japan to live and work DOES help out the national coffers..
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You must be in the kansai region right? I have only ever been harrassed by the police down in Kyoto. It put me right off the place. Been everywhere else in Japan and had no problems with any police or government officials except in Kyoto.