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Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

asia.nikkei.com

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Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#231

Post by akaij »

msikora wrote: post #219
somenameforme wrote: post #112

Most aren't aware of the situation Japan is in today because of the world we all grew up in, where Japan was at one point nearly the largest economy in the world. Japan has been in between a recession and stagnation for 30 years. Their GDP was higher 31 years ago than it is today. [1] Their GDP/capita is $33,950 with most wages well below that. They hit a record high for average wages in 2022 of ¥311,800 - about $2,1…

What blows my mind is that Japan's GDP per capita (PPP) as reported by World Bank is now lower than 4 formerly comparatively "poor" former Easter Block countries: Czechia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia. And just one place above Poland. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD?most_... WTF happened in Japan? All the above countries have their own demographic collapse as well BTW.

Maybe what we should question is the relevance and importance of such metrics.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#232

Post by timr »

thridnri wrote: post #225
timr wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please note: these houses you see online for 20k have problems. You aren't going to just be able to move in. Most of them need to be emptied of junk and repaired, if not completely renovated. If you're lucky, the only problem will be that the house is very remote, and you need a car to get there. That alone is a substantial problem on a 6-month basis if you don't have residency. But realistically, houses that are in…

I am familiar with situation in Japan. The house is not an investment, it is simply better, than paying rent for 7 or so years I plan to visit. I like hiking, remote location is the feature for me. Not everyone has to live in Tokyo. I will buy a bike and rent van when needed. Japan is a cheap developed country, with low crime. Not many places like that.

OK, I'm just saying that you should understand what you're getting into. These online memes are not reality.

> Not everyone has to live in Tokyo.

LOL, I'm not even remotely talking about Tokyo. I'm talking about 2nd- and 3rd-tier cities. If you find a $20k house in Tokyo, it's going to be unlivable, and so far outside the city that you won't believe you're in Tokyo.

Honestly, $20k is low even for a well-maintained place in a small town. Most likely, any house at this price point, anywhere, is in a flood zone or at serious risk of mudslide, filled with junk, and/or requiring seismic/electrical/plumbing improvements before you can move in.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#233

Post by [deleted] »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #203
standardUser wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> basically the kind of immigrants every other country wants but doesn't dare say it out loud Many nations have high standards for immigration relating to income, wealth and professional qualifications. There is absolutely nothing hush hush about it, not even remotely.

>There is absolutely nothing hush hush about it, not even remotely. You definitely don't live in the progressive parts of Europe. You're not allowed to say here you only want certain kinds of well off immigrant at the expense of other less well off migrants, otherwise you might be called a N*zi.

[deleted]

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#234

Post by eska »

standardUser wrote: post #214
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There is absolutely nothing hush hush about it, not even remotely. You definitely don't live in the progressive parts of Europe. You're not allowed to say here you only want certain kinds of well off immigrant at the expense of other less well off migrants, otherwise you might be called a N*zi.

There's lots of types of immigration and you seem to be focused on only one. Also, I bet you'd find it's very easy to talk openly about immigration if you don't start with a chip on your shoulder and dropping words like "nazi", which you know is inflammatory.

Sorry, but I have to agree with him as a German. The discussion climate about such topics is really rough here due to the country’s history.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#235

Post by mekoka »

herbst wrote: post #79

People seem to underestimate how limiting tourist visas actually are. Imagine you sell digital products automated or something like that. You would have to literally shut your website down if you go somewhere on a tourist visa so you don't accidently make money. You might think there are exceptions, but no there usually aren't. And now imagine you actually live from a digital business you run yourself. You literally…

Can you point to a specific article of the law from a country that states that you cannot work on your business registered in your home country, while visiting that particular country?

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#236

Post by eska »

kdmccormick wrote: post #145
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they only want high earning workers from developed countries, basically the kind of immigrants every other country wants but doesn't dare say it out loud. What's wrong with that? Their country, their rules.

Nothing innately "wrong" but I can see it fueling resentment among working class Japanese towards these foreign, exclusively-wealthy digital nomads.

I think it at least depends on other factors as well.

For example the German city of Düsseldorf is very welcome to Japanese business, and it resulted in a lot of infrastructure like Japanese schools, kindergardens, cultural institutions , Japanese chamber of commerce, restaurants, doctors with Japanese translators, a temple, as well as a huge yearly Japanese festival.

In the 90s almost all of the Japanese living in Düsseldorf were managers, i.e. paid well.

There is no crime, they cause no trouble, they usually just don’t speak German because they live after a 1-4 year business stint. They are very liked among the local citizens.

Meanwhile when Turks try to build a mosque chaos ensues. But the Turkish population is not a bunch of rich nomads.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#237

Post by chrisoconnell »

fxtentacle wrote: post #184
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they only want high earning workers from developed countries, basically the kind of immigrants every other country wants but doesn't dare say it out loud. What's wrong with that? Their country, their rules.

The article says "Japan hopes its new visa status will attract [..] YouTubers earning advertising fees from overseas companies." and this is about digital nomads. To me, that seems weird because most digital nomads (and most YouTube personalities) aren't going to make that $68k limit.

I can't say for sure whether it is "most" or not, but I do not know a single individual that is a Digital Nomad that makes sub $100,000 a year that is employed by another company.

As for a digital nomad, if you're business is secure enough that you're comfortable traveling full time or as a standard aspect of your life, you're likely making more than $68,000 Pre-Tax.

I don't think this is an incredibly high dollar amount, seeing as several major cities in the US have a minimum wage of nearly $41,000 a year.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#238

Post by lurking_swe »

com2kid wrote: post #207
lurking_swe wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

resentment? why? won’t the nomads spend money in the local community on goods and services? You make it seem like they would be taking local jobs away, or taking housing away from the locals that earn 2x less. i’m struggling to see your perspective? or is this just a concern about “crab mentality”?

Portugal has this very issue. A previous HN thread from a few weeks ago went into more detail about it. The tl;dr is if you drop 5000 people earning 2x the average salary into a neighborhood, the prices of everything goes way up. Rent, food, entertainment, locals get priced out very quickly.

naive question - is the situation in portugal different from japan? i was unaware of the issue so i did some brief reading.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65485908

seems like a tourism issue? that and extremely low wages compared to cost of living. If the government functioned for the people, i imagine it would be trivial to place severe limits on short term tourism rentals, but they have chosen not to do so.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#239

Post by thridnri »

timr wrote: post #232
thridnri wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am familiar with situation in Japan. The house is not an investment, it is simply better, than paying rent for 7 or so years I plan to visit. I like hiking, remote location is the feature for me. Not everyone has to live in Tokyo. I will buy a bike and rent van when needed. Japan is a cheap developed country, with low crime. Not many places like that.

OK, I'm just saying that you should understand what you're getting into. These online memes are not reality. > Not everyone has to live in Tokyo. LOL, I'm not even remotely talking about Tokyo. I'm talking about 2nd- and 3rd-tier cities. If you find a $20k house in Tokyo, it's going to be unlivable, and so far outside the city that you won't believe you're in Tokyo. Honestly, $20k is low even for a well-maintained pl…

It is still better than RV, and you avoid most problems in summer.

Mudslides are great point, thanks.

Re: Japan to introduce six-month residency visa for 'digital nomads'

#240

Post by OfficeChad »

prg20 wrote: post #29
andybak wrote: post #2

The salary requirement seems harsh for people working on non-profit, self-funded or early-stage.

Totally. They should allow anyone, even those with no income, to come to their country and use their services for nothing in return. We can see how well that's worked in the US.

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