[mimighost]

Well if they change their mind on immigration, they better be quick. Japan's neighboring countries are quickly catching up, if not surpassing, in a lot of respects, such as PPI and HDI.

Even in China, on the east coast, in certain sector, especially high-tech and finance, local companies can offer competitive salary and a better potential for career progress.

It is not like in 80s, when Japan is the envy of all kids in the class, the interests is quickly fading, with a aging population and stale economy.

[MarkMc]

If neighbouring Asians are too rich to immigrate, there will still be plenty of poor Africans for decades.

[mimighost]

Well, lets face it.If Japan is so reluctant to accept Chinese/Korean/Other Asians, whose appearance and culture are perhaps much closer to its own than other countries, it will only be harder for it to embrace the rest of the world.

It is pretty much like Asians in US sometimes being called as perpetual foreigners, even if some of them might been in this continent for generations.

Assume Japan is ever going to change its immigration policy, it will surely starts from developed countries and its neighboring states. But as I said in the above comment, the charm around Japan is vanishing, so even with a more friendly immigration policy, how much it could help Japan step out of painful declining is questionable.