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Rakuten CEO urges review of Japan's COVID-19 entry curbs on foreigners

24 Comments
By Chris Gallagher

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24 Comments
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The policy to be challenged is the blanket ban on foreigners, to differentiate between residents and short term visitors.

Arguing that there should be no difference on entry policies for Japanese nationals and foreigners will go nowhere as all countries ban foreigners from coming in also if coming from a covid19 prevalent country.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Rakuten CEO urges review of Japan's COVID-19 entry curbs on foreigners

Coronavirus' side effect - expose the extreme heartlessness and stupidity of the Rising Sun Country!!! Yes, if you have a Japanese passport you are a superior person, if not you are a second hand person, you don't deserve to come back to your home, kids and family, work...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

By comparison President Trump has been talking about prohibiting the return of US Citizens to the US if they were somewhere where they could be exposed to Covid-19.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Earlier this week business lobbies from Europe, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States signed a joint letter opposing the government's policy, saying it was out of step with measures in other major economies and would harm investment.

Mikitani san I appreciate the support, its unfortunate though you had to wait until the above GAIATSU was in place to do so though, again thanks, sadly the way this is being handled HAS & WILL cause damage to Japan internally & abroad.....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Do any of those other 140 countries have the absurd ruling that if you, a permanent resident of the country, go out you cannot return? We’re talking about a separate classification for citizen human bodies and for permanent resident bodies. Are they different bodies in the view of the virus??

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Whilst Japanese companies can be nimble and progressive to adapt and grow, the Japanese government is another matter.

Allowing foreigners to become beings with the same rights as a Japanese is not even a thought in the head of those in power here.

Permanent resident or not there are no laws which afford protection to you if a Japanese does not wish to engage with you or worse.

.A simple ‘no foreigners allowed’ sign placed on a door will suffice to keep you out!

And there is absolutely nothing that can be done, by you, about it...

1 ( +3 / -2 )

From above: "The government is planning to allow the re-entry of all residential status holders on the condition that they take PCR virus tests and quarantine themselves for two weeks at designated hotels."

Nice but nearly half a year late..

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I think the pain here is the group realization among perm resident population that non-Japanese citizen are really are not going to be supported by the Japanese government.

This is despite paying huge taxes and owning property. Those are western concepts of citizenship that are echoes of the now unpopular globalization fad.

Being "Japanese" is legal based. Carry a Japanese passport and the govt. will treat you just fine. Just look at those Japanese persons who lost their passport privileges, they have to get in line for a visa. This is because you have another country that is your legal home It is very black and white - seems people here forgot that.

What we need really is a path to Japanese citizenship that allows dual-citizenship. A concept still not understood in Japan to the bane of a few million people.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Does Abe think about this? Or is he so mad with hatred of foreigners that he doesn't.

The latter

3 ( +6 / -3 )

 we are also at risk of being perceived as a society that does not welcome foreign nationals within our borders."

You are

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I think a mistake was made when some permanent resident/s made an appeal seeking “permission on humanitarian grounds”. This let the government’s anti-foreigner bias to get off the hook. Suddenly, if you were a foreigner with a dying mother, it became “Okay, out of kindness we’ll let you go and return out of the goodness of our hearts”. The government anti-gaijin policy has been hiding behind the “on humanitarian grounds” thing ever since.

Why are they not being called - both internally and internationally - on this obvious discrimination?

Why are they never asked to spell out clearly a whatever rationale, for what seems to imply permanent residents go out of Japan and then return to Japan with a different virus (??) than that of returning citizens or tourists travelling to Japan from other countries?

Why?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Oh, but we DO want all of the tax revenue we can get from you!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Finally, a voice supporting the foreign community in Japan.

But will it just fall on deaf ears?

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Meanwhile how many cases have you heard about foreign residents coming down with the coronavirus? That you have heard nothing suggests that few if any foreigners have come down with the disease. Yet the coronavirus is soaring among Japanese for whatever reason. How many Japanese that go abroad take the disease with them or bring it back?

Does Abe think about this? Or is he so mad with hatred of foreigners that he doesn't.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

the J-Gov has no valid reason to block foreigners

They blocked foreigners from more than 140 countries and regions without valid reason?

All othercountries are justified but Japan isn't?

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

I read this news just this morning on NHK:

The government is planning to allow the re-entry of all residential status holders on the condition that they take PCR virus tests and quarantine themselves for two weeks at designated hotels.

Officials are preparing to expand the testing capabilities at Narita and two other major airports to 10,000 people per day next month to meet the demand.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

This is all Abe's doing. We have yet to see the full damage he has caused to permanent and long term residents. The truth will come, though likely not in Japan.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Doesn't really make sense that they're discussing entry seemingly one category of foreigners at a time, teachers, business people etc.

And that they didn't consider the residents first to be let in

13 ( +14 / -1 )

More Japanese business leaders need to speak up on this. If some well connected international schools can influence the entry policy for foreign teachers, surely some high profile Japanese business leaders should be able to do the same?

14 ( +16 / -2 )

“Hey gaijin...... Japan doesn’t really want you!”

This is the most honest policy ever in Japan. The message is clear. You can live here for 30 years, buy property, marry our citizens, have children who are citizens, pay taxes and support the community but when the crunch comes.... Japan does not want you.

21 ( +24 / -3 )

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