Interesting article on immigration in Japan

In the JT today:

Sakanaka recently poked his head above the bureaucratic barricades, suggesting that Japan allow in 20 million immigrants over the next half century.

The author of that opinion is not some radical revolutionary, but the ex-head of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau. And there's lots more:

"It's almost taboo to raise the issue of mass immigration here," he says.

"Japan has no experience of this, only of sending people abroad. Modern Japan almost totally shuts out foreigners and the only people who debate the issue are specialists. Nobody is even researching it."

Meanwhile, the politicians talk up the dangers of terrorism and re-introduce policies to fingerprint all foreigners (and keep the data for 80 years)...