Japanese Immigration Policy: Examining its Political, Institutional, and Economic Basis

This thesis seeks to answer the question: Why has Japans immigration policy been restrictive? The research will explore the factors that influence Japans immigration policy. Specifically, it will examine Japans restrictive immigration strategy and the resulting immigration patterns. It seeks to answer why Japans immigration policy has remained relatively restrictive (closed) despite external factors pressuring it to open up (i.e., the countrys increased need for foreign labor due, in part, to a stagnating economy and a rapidly aging population). This thesis acknowledges that more recent developments in Japanese immigration policy seem to point to a new, more open policy direction, but contends that it remains too early to say whether this demonstrates a significant policy shift or is simply an anomaly.