Complication at the Immigration Station

As many are aware, Japan's aging population has caused strains many industries, from nursing homes to restaurants. As such, the country is trying to encourage worker immigration through a new visa program that hopes to bring in 400,000 new employees in 5 years. However, they fell short of their yearly goal of 40,000 by 99%: only 376 immigrants were granted visas. What happened?

From the article, there seem to be 3 main issues.

1) Japan requires entrants to pass the visa eligibility exam to enter. Other articles state the exam contains a N4 language requirement, which even some fluent conversational speakers have trouble passing. Some Japanese descendants living in over countries (like Brazil) who have family in Japan find it difficult to reunite long-term because of this restriction. So, if Japanese family members have trouble passing this test, what hope do immigrants with no prior Japanese connection have? It seems that among Asia, the Philippines and Japan are the only countries to hold such a barrier. Ultimately, this exam might encourage workers to switch to easier-to-enter countries instead.

2) New laws require companies to pay immigrants the same amount as native Japanese. Though this seems like a move in the direction of equality, it seems to have hindered foreigners' job prospects in Japan.

To many small businesses in the countryside, this equal-pay rule is annoying and discourages them from hiring foreigners. Perhaps this is due to xenophobia, or perhaps this is due to workers from Southeast Asian countries (like Vietnam) typically being willing to work for much lower wages. Now that there's no financial incentive to hire a potentially "cheaper" immigrant, why not just hire more Japanese? (After all, there will be less training required for someone who already lives in the country.) So, immigrants coming to Japan might find it harder to find work at all.

3) Perhaps a Japanese job is not as desirable as it once was. The wage gap between Singapore and Japan is barely 10% now and shrinking. ($1159 to $1032 a month for restaurant workers) So, while in the past, it would have made economical sense for a Singaporean to emigrate to Japan to enjoy a 50% wage boost, now that other countries have caught up, there is no reason to work here in the first place.

Japan's GDP has not increased much since the 1990's, while Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, and China have swelled. This seems to have decreased Japan's influx of foreign workers, which exacerbates Japan's problem of having a low working-age population. Unfortunately, this might cause a positive feedback loop, as fewer workers will lead to even lower GDP. Hopefully, with the right political action, Japan can bolster immigration enough to smooth out its population pyramid once and for all.