*to Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Κυνόσαργες

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

"Foreign nurse success story has message for Japan: Open up"

"Indonesian who passed test cites snail's pace of reform"

Forget it, Japan. Nurses who go to 'Western' countries, don't have to learn kanji, do get better benefits (including for maternity) more holidays, and they and their children get accepted as locals by the majority, not called 'Gaijin' for generations. Unless you fix those terms, Japan, the best won't be going to you, if many do at all.  You need these nurses desperately, as only these other Asian countries have enough young to become nurses, unlike Japan, and only someone from a poorer country might consider taking the shit a nurse does in a Japanese workplace for the money offered.  God knows most Japanese won't: those I knew were out by thirty, either by marriage or burn-out.
Of course, what Japanese society still expects is to poach the skills and labour of their foreigners, which we do in 'the West' too, certainly.  The difference, of which these foreign labourers cannot be unaware, is the Japanese want us all to fuck off and go home once their use for us is done.  Should they go to one of the 'Western' countries, they can stay as long as they are employed, and longer than that once they get a permanent visa* and then citizenship, collect retirement benefits they paid into, among other benefits, and otherwise get as rewarded for their work and sacrifices as anyone else, locally born or not.  Which would you choose?  Doesn't take too long to figure out.
Not to mention Japan has no economic future to speak of to come to start a family in.
*Just how do you get one of these in Japan, unless you're a media personality who tells the Japanese how unique they are?  Does even marriage give me permanent residency?  Rather doubt.  And citizenship?  Ha!  Who would I have to fuck?  Certainly someone other than my wife, and certainly not as aged as I am now...

6 comments:

  1. First generation US born citizen right here. I have never been told to, "Go home beaner!" Which I am immensely thankful for. But the overall national attitude that there needs to be stricter laws against illegals baffles me. The illegals are doing the jobs that born US citizens scoff at or refuse to do.
    My mom is actually a naturalized citizen and I don't recall it being too hard. Lots of paperwork, fees, swearing in and that was it I think. Sounds like Japan has it much harder to gain citizenship in.

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    1. In my experience as a teacher in Canada, you and your parents' generation are the two best generations a country can have: work hard, improve yourselves, and don't look to blame all set-backs on the schools, media or someone else. Your parents' generation understood the terms going in, which I am sure were not quite fair, but made the best of them.

      Sorry, but the next generations suck as much as the locally born...

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  2. Both of you, and most of the rest of us, understand what needs to happen: immigration and profound social changes. Japanese I know, even the travelled, can't quite accept this (even though the Chinese and SE Asians are already coming in and staying, in insufficient numbers). Only other choice is to become a second or third tier economy. They are already a second tier culture: in the second half of the 20th C. there was Kurosawa, innovative anime and novels coming out of Japan. What have they given the world in the last twenty years? Bukkake.

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  3. Hey don't look down on bukkake... I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere!

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    1. I expected a smartassed comment to my bukkake quip from a man. Consider me impressed. And to "look down on bukkake" is inevitable for the 'pitcher', right? All a matter of perspective...

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  4. *Just how do you get one of these in Japan, unless you're a media personality who tells the Japanese how unique they are? Does even marriage give me permanent residency? Rather doubt.

    very wrong, marry a local for 3 years, pay your taxes and keep your nose clean and its a given.

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