Japan�s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, told his parliament last week that he has �no intention� of accepting more migrants despite pressure from the UN Refugee Agency.
During a debate in Japan�s parliament, Mr. Abe argued that accepting foreign workers should is justifiable only where they are truly needed to �keep Japan�s economy and infrastructure sustainable.�
The 63-year-old prime minister is a confirmed nationalist and an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, and has pursued a �Japan-first� economic policy that has been compared to that of Mr. Trump.
The admiration seems to be mutual, and the two leaders spent a fair amount of time together during Trump�s Asia trip earlier this month. �Our relationship is really extraordinary,� Mr. Trump said. �We like each other and our countries like each other. And I don�t think we�ve ever been closer to Japan than we are right now.�
Japan is an ethnically homogeneous nation, with less than 2 percent of the population foreign born, and its immigration policies are designed to defend Japan�s cultural identity as well as to insure national security. It also aims to protect the local job market to keep unemployment to a minimum.
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