LONDON -- Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's recent remarks suggesting that many foreigners in Japan are criminals and could cause trouble in a time of crisis have inevitably aroused fears abroad that Japanese rightwing politicians are continuing to pander to popular prejudice and have their eyes on re-election rather than the long-term national interest. Of course, Ishihara may have been misreported or his remarks taken out of context, but to foreign observers his comments are the sort of remarks to be expected from Japanese nationalists of the old school who have failed to understand the lessons of the history of the last century or to appreciate the problems facing Japan's aging society in the 21st century.
The working population of Japan will soon steadily decline and there will be fewer and fewer people to look after Japan's senior citizens. Objective economists reckon that Japan will need an increasing flow of immigrants to meet the demand for labor notwithstanding the development of modern technology and labor-saving devices.
It will not be easy for Japanese society to overcome prejudices against foreigners and peoples of different races. It might be thought that people of Chinese or Korean origin would be most easily absorbed, but one look at the continuing discrimination in Japan against people of Korean origin shows that this view is incorrect. White and black people, of course, stand out in any group of Japanese and it is very difficult for a white or black to be accepted in Japan as "one of us" even if he or she speaks Japanese and understands Japanese culture.