With a falling population, a shrinking tax base and a shortage of carers for its increasing number of elderly, calls are growing for Japan to allow in a large influx of foreign workers to plug the gap. The question is: When they come, will they be able to find a place to stay?

With its "shikikin" (deposit) and "reikin" (key money) — which mean forking out several months' rent upfront and tracking down a guarantor willing to take on the payments in case of default — Japan's real estate system is notorious for the high demands it makes of potential tenants. Even if an individual is able to pay all the fees and find a guarantor, foreigners often hit a brick wall when looking for a place to live simply because they are not native-born Japanese.

John Clark, a Canadian translator with permanent residency status who has been living in Japan since 1999, ran head-first into that barrier when he was looking for an apartment in downtown Hiroshima. Despite having a guarantor, sufficient funds and being fluent in Japanese, the building owner refused to even consider letting him rent the room.