Podcast Episode
Japan TURNS ON Foreign Residents?! Jake Adelstein on Takaichi's Immigration Policies
Japan Station: Deep Dives into Japanese Culture, Language & Society·JapanKyo.com·21 August 2026·30 min

About this episode
On this episode of Japan Station, Jake Adelstein joins us to discuss immigration policy in Japan and why the Takaichi government has decided to make it more difficult for foreigners to get permanent residency. 👉Topics Discussed Why you (probably) will never get permanent residence in Japan The ill-defined changes to requirements for permanent residency in Japan Why the changes to permanent residency requirements in Japan are so discouraging to foreign residents of Japan Why Japan needs workers from other countries The problem with retroactively changing requirements for permanent residency in Japan The problem with the 30 years of payments to the national pension system requirement The influence of the Sanseitō And much more Why the yen is so weak How most people in Japan will never be full-fledged company employees (seishain) How Japan hates and needs "overtourism" How Japan is becoming less and less alluring as a place to live How Japan has failed to innovate and take the lead in new industries The problematic way Japan didn't allow foreign residents to reenter Japan during the COVID pandemic And much more 👉Subscribe to the Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/japan-station-a-podcast-by-japankyo-com/id1440454968 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6lDoFFt4M0HyyKaVeDyKkB 👉Support on Patreon & Ko-fi Support for as little as $1 a month to get early access to episodes, ad free versions and occassional bonus content Support on Patreon https://patreon.com/japankyo Support via a one time donation! Ko-fi: https://www.ko-fi.com/japankyo Venmo: https://venmo.com/tonyrvega Paypal.me: https://paypal.me/tonyrvega 👉Mobal Use my Mobal affiliate link to get a 10% discount on their voice & data plan. Their voice & data plan is perfect for those who want a Japanese phone number while in Japan. Using this link gets you a discount and it provides me with a small commission which I use to fund JapanKyo. Get 10% off of Mobal's Voice & Data plan: https://www.mobal.com/tonyjapan 👉Get a T-Shirt! MechaNekoSushi.com 👉Links, Videos, Etc. Read Jake Adelstein's article Welcome to Japanistan, where the foreign residents who buried their lives here aren't welcome anymore. It's not a kind policy–and not even a wise one: https://tokyopaladin.substack.com/p/takaichi-just-told-the-foreign-residents For more articles by Jake Adelstein, check out the Tokyo Paladin Substack. Tokyo Paladin Substack: https://tokyopaladin.substack.com/ 👉Follow on Social Media X/Twitter: https://x.com/tonyrvega Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tonyrvega.bsky.social Instagram: https://instagram.com/tonyrvega The Anime Linguist YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theanimelinguist Japan Station YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@japankyonews Website: https://japankyo.com/ Tony R. Vega Personal X/Twitter: https://x.com/thevegatony Tony R. Vega Personal Website: https://tonyrvega.com/