Japan May Require Long Term Foreign Residents to Know Japanese

A teacher worked for me in Japan. He and his family have been there well over a dozen years now.

They have tried to get a resident visa, the Japanese equivalent of a green card and each time they were turned down.

My office manager who escorted them to the immigration office overheard the clerks joking to the effect, "They can't even speak Japanese after 10 years. Why should they get a residence visa?"

Japan is thinking to make it official. They won't give permanent resident status unless the applicant has some knowledge of Japanese. The difference – it'll be official.

It has something to do with 'quality of life.'

The director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute in Tokyo and formerly head of the Justice Ministry's Tokyo immigration office says Japan may be preparing to accept, rather than reject more migrants.

If someone learns the language, and contrary to some opinions, Japanese is NOT impossible to learn, then why not give them long term status?

The teacher who never learns Japanese doesn't deserve permanent or long term status.

What do you think? 

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