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<blockquote data-quote="Laner" data-source="post: 1229062" data-attributes="member: 1932">Its not necessarily about more people, but being able to dictate where the people go. If foreign workers in healthcare get a visa, it will be to the countryside areas where elders are heading into long term care. That demographic arc is going to need care now, and robots are not quite there yet. For the Japanese young people, its almost impossible to avoid the suction of Tokyo and Osaka. That region has more people than they know what to do with, but a 45min train ride out of those regions puts you into some sad areas with abandoned schools and vacant homes. In an odd twist, it has been foreigners that have made some small towns cool. Some young guys get sent to the countryside to teach English in the JET program, fall in love with a girl and rave about it online. It becomes a bit of a magnet for teachers, Japanese wives to foreign men hook up some of their friends with single foreigners and one of the foreigners opens a pub and next thing you know there is a small but growing demographic of 30yo's with families. I certainly noticed that in places with good access like Shonan and Nagano. Beautiful, picturesque little towns with 0% crime and an aging population. Sometimes it takes westerners ideas to show the Japanese that there is another way. And part of me thinks demographics is one of these things.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Laner, post: 1229062, member: 1932"] Its not necessarily about [i]more[/i] people, but being able to dictate where the people go. If foreign workers in healthcare get a visa, it will be to the countryside areas where elders are heading into long term care. That demographic arc is going to need care now, and robots are not quite there yet. For the Japanese young people, its almost impossible to avoid the suction of Tokyo and Osaka. That region has more people than they know what to do with, but a 45min train ride out of those regions puts you into some sad areas with abandoned schools and vacant homes. In an odd twist, it has been foreigners that have made some small towns cool. Some young guys get sent to the countryside to teach English in the JET program, fall in love with a girl and rave about it online. It becomes a bit of a magnet for teachers, Japanese wives to foreign men hook up some of their friends with single foreigners and one of the foreigners opens a pub and next thing you know there is a small but growing demographic of 30yo's with families. I certainly noticed that in places with good access like Shonan and Nagano. Beautiful, picturesque little towns with 0% crime and an aging population. Sometimes it takes westerners ideas to show the Japanese that there is another way. And part of me thinks demographics is one of these things. [/QUOTE]

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