IZUMO, SHIMANE PREF. – Trade tension between the United States and China is casting a shadow over the livelihoods of foreign nationals living in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, with dwindling employment opportunities and linguistic barriers forcing them to pack up and leave.
In 2018, the prefecture’s foreign population experienced the highest growth rate in Japan, with around half of them living in Izumo. But in the six months since last May, when the number stood at 4,950, the city’s foreign population fell by more than 400.
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