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Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

tokyopaladin.substack.com

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Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#111
post #86
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they meant "permanent resident" when they said "resident" that'd be a pretty weird, given, you know, our 在留カード literally say "residence card" on them; but perhaps this actually common, and I'm one of today's lucky 10,000. But if they're here on a Digital Nomad visa, then their stay is limited to 6mo with no pathway to extending this — _I_ personally don't think that qualifies as "living" in a place, but perhaps re…

Yes, I knew as soon as I wrote that that someone would chime in with the English definition of 在留. I thought about deleting it since it isn’t important to the argument, but I left it in because it’s a thing I’ve heard expats say here. Look, even if OP is just living here on a tourist visa and doesn’t have any form of residency at all , and (s)he’s still following the rules as established, it’s not even remotely ironi…

But that's the entire point!

>if OP is just living here on a tourist visa and doesn’t have any form of residency at all, and (s)he’s still following the rules as established

No, I don't think they are. I think if you're _living_ here on a tourist visa, that's very much "abusing the visa".

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#112
post #87
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, you're simultaneously (somehow?) living here as a non-resident, and complaining about people _abusing the system_? That's pretty rich, gotta say!

Your point doesn't follow logically. If you're a non-resident living in Japan according to Japanese peoples' expectations, why can't you criticize other non-residents who aren't living in a way that's consistent with Japanese peoples' expectations?

In fairness, there are a lot of Japanese people who feel they were not consulted on the scale and scope of "Japanese peoples' expectations". So many such people that they could get a Prime Minister elected. I wouldn't assume that living according to the laws that exist currently means that you're living in accordance with "Japanese peoples' expectations". That's the whole reason the laws are being changed at the moment.

That said, as a foreigner right now the best thing to do is to watch the legal environment as it shifts so that you don't fall afoul of it. And to be extra mindful of adhering to Japanese customs, which boils down to being nice along with things like realizing some places may not look on your tattoos the same way those tattoos are looked on in the West.

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has to be balanced with preserving culture and social homogeneity. A country is not just an economic entity and individuals are not just producers and consumers... Population has also exploded in never seen before proportions everywhere on Earth (Japan had a population of only 45 million in 1900...) and it is probably a blessing in disguise if it reduces.

"Social homogeneity" is how you get suburban shitholes in Utah where the police trip over themselves to defend a LEGO pawn shop owner from being served papers. People blamed the "Mormon Mafia[0]" for that, but the real problem is just that social homogeneity sucks , especially if you're on the receiving end of it. As for population decline, I will give you that all the people who are currently very loud-mouthed about…

If you attack people as soon as they say that perhaps Japanese (or insert any other country) want to preserve their culture and who they are (which makes it a "shithole" according to you) and immediately label them racists and take the extremist view that it is your "human right" to be let in any country you please then perhaps the issue is not others...

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#114
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since you can bring in relatives on this kind of visa, I’ve heard the expression “One curry pot equals three people”. Family reunification is a gaping loophole in any skilled immigration law and developed countries need to seriously limit it. The New York Times did a good podcast on how uncapped family reunification ended up being a loophole that totally overturned all the limits and compromises in the 1965 immigra…

It's a contentious issue in Canada, too. There are legit reasons families may want to bring in certain extended family members (grandparents for childcare, etc), but it becomes a chain. Canada's elderly benefits are designed for people that have lived here all their lives, so it adds a strain to healthcare and other services. IMO it should be immediate family (spouse and children) and then maybe one should be able to…

> Canada's elderly benefits are designed for people that have lived here all their lives, so it adds a strain to healthcare and other services.

In Germany, the benefits are tied to contributions, and after 45 years old, having some sort of pension is a requirement for getting a residence permit.

That being said, Canada is also getting skilled workers it did not pay to raise, educate and train. It's getting a good deal, but it's not getting a free meal. Those workers will have demands too.

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#115
post #68
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. There was also a proliferation of Indian restaurants in the major cities, for the same basic reason. (Though I have to say that seems like a much harder road than operating a guesthouse for people from your own country, which is what I presume was the Chinese approach.) Since you can bring in relatives on this kind of visa, I’ve heard the expression “One curry pot equals three people” . There have been stories i…

> Since you can bring in relatives on this kind of visa, I’ve heard the expression “One curry pot equals three people”. Family reunification is a gaping loophole in any skilled immigration law and developed countries need to seriously limit it. The New York Times did a good podcast on how uncapped family reunification ended up being a loophole that totally overturned all the limits and compromises in the 1965 immigra…

> Family reunification is a gaping loophole in any skilled immigration law and developed countries need to seriously limit it.

It's a huge benefit, giving more people the benefits of freedom, bringing the country benefits of more free people (including economic growth), and bringing families together.

As there is little documented downside, it's a huge win. I want people to have freedom and families to be together. What's the downside?

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A foreign national that just extracts capital by capturing real state and collecting rent is a great example, this person is a large net loss for the country. Is this a creative way of arguing that landlords are a net loss for the country? Because I would like to remind you that MANY people cannot afford to buy homes, and renting is how they make sure they don't become homeless.

And MANY people, like me, can afford to buy a home, butprefer to rent anyway.

Or you end up with some weird scenario where so many are drunk on “real estate only go up” and rents become cheaper than owning.

I guess that’s a good thing (for voluntary renters… not so much for involuntary renters) but not really supposed to happen.

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#118
post #57
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question: how so? I'm not familiar with the economics of this.

The short answer is this an exemplar of the distinction between generating income by producing vs generating income by rent-seeking. Producing something, goods, services, useful information, etc. is a net plus for society, adding value for both the producer and the consumer, making the society overall richer. Rent-seeking is purely extractive - it extracts value from the consumer, and in the cases where the extractor…

Many positives. For example, the buildings get to be maintained and left in a better condition, rather than deteriorate. Streets look better too, and landrods have an interest that their assets are located in areas with low crime and adequate public services, as that improves the value of their properties. Often airbnb properties are well maintained, and I've seen a few examples where derelict properties were turned into nice looking houses in my town.

Landlords such as Airbnb hosts usually invest a lot in furniture and equipment, helping to keep the producers in business. Not to mention provide employment thanks to renovations, cleaning and maintenance. I'd say it leaves the economy more vibrant and benefits all. A classic example where landlords were banned was the Soviet Union, and all the housing problems that followed. Although the USSR finally collapsed, people there still live in the old Khrushchevkas...

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#119
post #111
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I knew as soon as I wrote that that someone would chime in with the English definition of 在留. I thought about deleting it since it isn’t important to the argument, but I left it in because it’s a thing I’ve heard expats say here. Look, even if OP is just living here on a tourist visa and doesn’t have any form of residency at all , and (s)he’s still following the rules as established, it’s not even remotely ironi…

But that's the entire point! >if OP is just living here on a tourist visa and doesn’t have any form of residency at all, and (s)he’s still following the rules as established No, I don't think they are. I think if you're _living_ here on a tourist visa, that's very much "abusing the visa".

It’s not the point. If you’re following the rules, you can call it whatever you like. If you’re not following the rules, then it’s at least ironic that you’d be calling for defense of the rules.

It’s a weirdly motivated form of pedantry to get snarky at someone for using the word “living” when you know nothing about their situation. It’s almost like you’re looking for a reason to be upset.

Re: Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has to be balanced with preserving culture and social homogeneity. A country is not just an economic entity and individuals are not just producers and consumers... Population has also exploded in never seen before proportions everywhere on Earth (Japan had a population of only 45 million in 1900...) and it is probably a blessing in disguise if it reduces.

"Social homogeneity" is how you get suburban shitholes in Utah where the police trip over themselves to defend a LEGO pawn shop owner from being served papers. People blamed the "Mormon Mafia[0]" for that, but the real problem is just that social homogeneity sucks , especially if you're on the receiving end of it. As for population decline, I will give you that all the people who are currently very loud-mouthed about…

>Anyway, migration is a human right.

Not having states with citizenship is not a human right.

>Sure. But culture changes all the time!

Not even remotely at the current speed. If it did many of the cultures and ethnicities in europe simply wouldn't exist.

Also your image of free unlimited migration runs into endless historical examples to the contrary.

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