Not long ago I read an article in a Canadian paper titled "why not use refugees to solve our temporary foreign workers problem"? In a nutshell, the authors were asking why not allow for more refugee (resettlement) admission with a view to addressing at least some of Canada's labor market constraints?
They argued that by providing labor employment opportunities to refugees, Canada could "contribute to the nation-building agenda, fulfill humanitarian commitments and respond to labor market needs." Could this line of thought also be entertained in Japan?
There is a growing recognition of Japan's demographic problem (and that this problem cannot be addressed solely by encouraging a higher birthrate). There also seems to be recognition that to address the problem of labor market shortages (in part with a view to the upcoming 2020 Olympic games), some level of immigration may be needed.