Epilogue: Shrinking Japan and Foreign Residents with Special Attention to Sannyodo

The recentShrinking Japan population[aut]Kumagai, F. projection released by IPSSIPSS reportsRegional variations that Japan’s total population will decrease to 87 million by 2070, about 70% of the current population. Furthermore, by 2070, the number of foreign nationalsForeign nationals living in Japan will increase to 9.4 million, 3.4 times the current number, and as much as 10% of the Japanese population will be foreign residentsForeign residents. As we have described earlier in the book, Japan’s population is concentrated in larger cities, such as the three metropolitan areasThree metropolitan areas of TokyoTokyo, NagoyaNagoya, and OsakaOsaka, and this pattern is predicted to continue. The number of foreign residents in Japan has increased dramatically, from about 530,000 in 1950 to over 2.4 million in 2020. When we analyzed changes in foreign residentsForeign residents from 1950 to 2020 in three prefectures along the SannyodoSannyodo, namely Okayama, HiroshimaHiroshima, and Yamaguchi prefecturesYamaguchi Prefecture, the numbers increased dramatically, except for in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the numbers declined from 26,189 to 14,378. The major reason for the decline in foreign residents in Yamaguchi PrefectureYamaguchi Prefecture is the automation of processes in the area’s heavy industry. Clearly, foreign residentsForeign residents are essential to the survival of manufacturing industries in the three prefectures along the SannyodoSannyodo. However, immigrants have been subject to abuses of power. Can Japan transform itself into a country enabling foreign workers to work without fear? The final design of a revised immigration system has been presented in the fall of 2023 by the government’s expert panel. The proposed new system would allow foreign nationalsForeign nationals to work in the same industrial field for three years in principle. Those who wish to remain in Japan for an extended period of five years are to be granted Specified Technical Skill Category 1 status. After that, they will be encouraged to move to Specified Technical Skill Category 2, which has no upper limit on the period of stay and allows immigrants to bring their family members to Japan. In other words, the proposed new system intends to show those who entered Japan as unskilled laborers a medium- to long-term career path so that they can envision a path to future resettlement. A successful implementation of a revised immigration system would answer the complaints of the foreign immigrant workforce and provide businesses with the necessary workforce. Now is the time that we need to attract foreign nationalsForeign nationals for a sustainable populationSustainable population. Each municipality along the SannyodoSannyodo is urgently requested to create an innovative program. Each municipality must realize its municipal powersMunicipal power, both positive and negative, and use them to best effect. Municipalities may not be able to increase the Japanese resident populationResident population. However, they can increase the related and/or the exchange population, and foreign residentsForeign residents—who will be the integral force for sustaining the Japanese population from now on.