Japan Builds Near $700 Million Fund To Lure Foreign Academic Talent (theregister.com) 52
An anonymous reader shares a report: Japan is the latest nation hoping to tempt disgruntled US researchers alarmed by the Trump administration's hostile attitude to academia to relocate to the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese government aims to create an elite research environment, and has detailed a $693 million package to attract researchers from abroad, including those from America who may have seen their budgets slashed or who fear a clampdown on their academic freedom.
Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:1)
Re:Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:5, Interesting)
weeb is the only reason anyone would willingly live in Japan.
the cost of living is rising, and wages are obscenely low compared to the rest of the developed world. It may be attractive for south-east asian nurses and grunt work (of which Japan has plenty, but that's not really something making headlines in the west), but Japan insists in demanding highly skilled professionals (no college degree = no visa) and compensation is ridiculous in comparison. If you're a self-taught software developer, no matter how talented you are, you're not getting a work visa unless a company hires you. But then again, no sane developer is going to work Japanese hours for japanese salaries.
Japan wants American talent, for which an american had to pay $200k, but wants to pay $30-35k/year. Not gonna happen.
Also Japan doesn't provide any real path to permanent residence. All of those work visas are exclusively temporary. There is no exemption. There is no "but i've lived in this country for 30 years, what do you mean go back to my country? i have nothing there" exemption. And this is a very important problem: if you lived in japan and got a normal salary, you CAN'T afford a home back in your home country when japan kicks you out.
of course there are nuances to all of this but in general this is the situation in japan. Are there higher income jobs in japan? Yes, but they are for managers, and as a foreigner you're unlikely to be promoted to those.
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weeb is the only reason anyone would willingly live in Japan.
Actually there are a number of Americans (and nationals from other countries) who have settled in Japan, and would find it difficult to go back and live in their country of origin.
The aspects of Japan they like often include the following:
Re: Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:2)
I myself am a weeb and I've traveled to Japan 3 times so far. I've driven over 2000km there and I'm familiar with the culture. I even speak some Japanese. I considered living in Japan for a while but the long term visa situation is a major problem.
what you say is true, but you completely missed my point.
what you fail to mention is that most of those who "stay in Japan forever" do so on a spouse visa. it's the only "accessible" way to permanent* residence in Japan
Japan immigration laws are very hostile. even
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what you fail to mention is that most of those who "stay in Japan forever" do so on a spouse visa. it's the only "accessible" way to permanent* residence in Japan
There is also the work visa, and the new "remote job visa" (which is actually not so new anymore).
Re: Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:2)
do you just like arguing while being wrong? I've already made my point and you have added nothing to counter it.
you're missing the point. I made my point abundantly clear and I won't repeat myself.
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Also Japan doesn't provide any real path to permanent residence.
Not true, it's much easier to get temporary and permanent residence in Japan than in the US.
What you're thinking is citizenship, not permanent residence.
Re: Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:2)
can you explain how to get permanent residence in Japan?
Re: Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:2)
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the cost of living is rising, Rising from ABSURD cheap to EXTREMLY cheap is of no concern for a normal person.
and wages are obscenely low compared to the rest of the developed world. The wages are in relation to cost of living, and they are completely adequate.
If you calculate wages in different countries based on dollars, and are to stupid to realize what you can buy in that either country for that amount, then you do not relay qualify to go abroad.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, what counts in comparing w
Re: Inviting US academics into Japan? (Score:2)
not only you're missing the point, you also misquote me to make your point? man, you're an idiot
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There are plenty of tech companies in Japan that pay similar wages to the US and Europe. Mostly the ones that try to attract foreign talent.
Other reasons for wanting to live there are the quality of life, the food, the beautiful country, family, and low crime rates. It does get extremely hot in the summer in some parts, and very cold in the winter.
For permanent residence you simply have to be there on a work visa for 10 years, or you can get it in as little as 3 years if your job qualifies you due to in-dem
Brainpower, or Breeders? (Score:3)
Japan has been below replacement levels for quite a long time now. Adult diapers have outsold baby diapers for well over a decade there.
While the media might love to spin Japans actions as politically motivated and “anti-Trump”, the reality is they need breeders a hell of a lot more than they need brainpower.
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Japan has been below replacement levels for quite a long time now. Adult diapers have outsold baby diapers for well over a decade there.
While the media might love to spin Japans actions as politically motivated and “anti-Trump”, the reality is they need breeders a hell of a lot more than they need brainpower.
That would be predicated on allowing actual permanent resettlement with a path to citizenship and birthright citizenship for one's offspring.
I could well see researchers that aren't in a having/raising family stage of life being interested in living and working in Japan for some number of years as an interesting and finite life stage, but I don't see those looking to permanently settle somewhere or to raise a family somewhere necessarily being up for it.
To address that, Japan needs to do more than simply pr
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That would be predicated on allowing actual permanent resettlement
That is allowed. Always was. It is called "permanent residency". And it is not even difficult. As Japanese is one of the simplest language on the planet. And being able to speak it, is one of the few hurdles.
with a path to citizenship this path is also there. b
And this birthright citizenship for one's offspring. is already the case: A child is a Japanese national if either their father or mother is a Japanese national at the time of the chil
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I'd say your question was answered in the summary, or are you suggesting they might want to put intelligent Gaijin out to stud? That would be an enticement!
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They do not need breeders.
They need workers who like to work with elderly.
Everyone needs brainpower. Problem is most countries make no good use of brainpower.
The idea that a shrinking population is a problem is complete bollocks.
A strange shaped aging pyramid might be one ... after all in countries like Japan you can not simply fire a school teacher with the argument: oh, we have 20 kids less than about 10 years ago each new school year. We cut down on number classes and do not need you anymore.
Also the peo
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Adult diapers have outsold baby diapers for well over a decade there. Unlikely. Adults needing diapers is a very very rare condition.
If babies are more rare than diaper-wearing adults in Japan, that only confirms how right I am about their breeder need and how dire their situation truly is.
In the Japanese market, adult diaper sales have outpaced baby diaper sales since 2011 because of shifts in demand. Births in the country—758,631—were down 5.1% in 2023 from the year before, Japan’s lowest number of births since the 19th century.
https://fortune.com/2024/03/28... [fortune.com]
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A forbes news post does not make it true.
Roughly speaking: if babies need as many diapers per day as an adult at old age, that would mean that there were more than 758,631 adults needing diapers. In 2011.
Look here at the age pyramid. https://www.populationpyramid.... [populationpyramid.net]
Of course I have no idea at which age such problems usually might start and what the percentage of affected elderly is.
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If this program was intended to recruit breeders they wouldn't be trying to recruit academics - those are not exactly known for being prolific breeders. If Japan wanted to solve their demographic problems through immigration they could very easily do so. They are very geographically close to a number of South-East Asian nations which have very high populations, a far lower standard of living (there is an actual war going on in Myanmar), a cultural predisposition to having large families and a lot of people
Smart. (Score:4, Insightful)
The US is in a rush to vilify anybody in STEM that actually knows what they're doing. Other countries should try to capitalize on it. Just as other countries are capturing the export markets the US has historically served, they should also try to capture the intellectual capital.
It's all a mess right now, but there are already glimpses of the future where winners are starting to emerge. The US isn't among them.
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Re: Smart. (Score:4, Insightful)
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And with no regards to their job performance or conflicts of interest either?
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Is this a serious question? How many qualified people do you need to see fired and replaced with incompetent ideologues before you acknowledge it? How many times do you need to hear people disparaged specifically because they really are experts in their fields? How many times do you need to hear "scientist" or "expert" as a pejorative?
The U.S. is regressing to an intellectual backwater, and it's going to happen fast.
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The US Ivy League openly and flagrantly violates the 1965 Civil Rights Act by denying admission on basis of race. Like all bigots, they're proud of it and will not stop even when the Justice Department sues them for civil right violations. They're the modern Bull Connor. Maybe if they go to Asia, they can get a taste of what they've been doing to Asians. I think this would be good medicine for them.
And boy, I look forward to seeing the looks on their faces when they discover Japan doesn't have McMans
Japanese culture shift? (Score:1, Insightful)
As I understand it the Japanese are not kind to immigrants. Especially those from other Asian nations. I recall hearing of Korean families that have lived in Japan for four generations and they still do not have Japanese citizenship. If they expect to attract people to come to Japan for work then they need to allow for people that stay and have children there to have citizenship. Or maybe not citizenship but some guarantee that they have some right to stay and work.
Then is having some reasonable work-li
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Re: Japanese culture shift? (Score:2)
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That self-serving, overly simplistic view paints a monochromatic history. The truth is complicated. If you're suggesting that Japan attacked the U.S. with neither rhyme nor reason, you haven't actually looked into it.
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By the late 1990s WW2 would have been over 50 years prior. That means the "round-eyes" would be over 70 years old or dead from old age, not likely to take a trip to Japan. Maybe it is just a matter of the sign being there so long it was just expected it would stay. Do these signs still exist today? I have my doubts, but I'd also not be surprised if they had 50 years of being "trained" that such signs were the norm. Well, that would be 80 years now. If they want people from Europe and America to come t
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In all fairness, round-eyes did nuke them. Twice.
(Gen Boom) ”Cancel Culture bitches thought they knew how to hold a grudge. Pfft.”
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I remember visiting Japan in 2018 and 2023 and seeing no such signs any more. In fact, the vast majority of public transportation signage is now printed multilingual as they were preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Attitudes are shifting.
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Japan is not even kind to repatriated Japanese, many of whom have left again because of the discrimination they experienced. They're discriminated against abroad for being Japanese, then come home and get discriminated against again for not being sufficiently racially pure.
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As I understand it the Japanese are not kind to immigrants.
Japan has historically been pretty isolated. Nationality is determined Jus sanguinis (by blood) rather than jus soli (by place of birth). Culturally a foreigner that takes Japanese citizenship is not considered the same as a Japanese person with Japanese ancestry.
Foreigners in Japan are, by default, thought of as visitors - who will eventually return.
I don't think it's a lack of kindness as such, it's just a cultural norm that is an outcome from Japanese history.
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Nationality is determined Jus sanguinis (by blood) rather than jus soli (by place of birth).
Well that is true of the massive majority of countries, about 85%
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However one has to know what "Jus sanguinis" actually means. Because the literal translation "by blood" is misleading. The parents (actually one) does not need to be of "Japanese blood", but only needs to be a Japanese citizen.
So a child born to an originally American father, who has Japanese citizenship, born somewhere on the planet outside of Japan, or inside of Japan: will have Japanese citizenship. Regardless of the "blood" of the mother or her citizenship.
In other words, the race, or history or ancestr
Open Mind (Score:2)
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you'll be sorry (Score:2)
I worked for years for a Japanese company, working in the US but frequently interacting with Japanese colleagues and traveling to Japan. Trust me, you will regret it if you move there, unless it's to retire.