Interesting Global News
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I am currently living rent-free in Japan because there's so many empty houses that just need looking after.
Everywhere in Japan has a declining population except Tokyo and Osaka, and both cities are well designed and don't feel crowded. I think Japan is around the 50th most densely populated country, but the very well designed public transport systems and well planned (and mostly hidden!) highways make it so much more open and walk-able than many less densely populated places.
The only place that feels crowded is Kyoto and that's because it was never built to sustain the level of tourism it attracts.
Japan has a limitless water supply. They don't even charge for the stuff in many places (like here). The agriculture industry is strong and supplies most of the food.
The country is still like 70%+ untouched forest.
Japanese policy and mainstream culture is xenophobic and racist, mostly towards Asians (and indigenous people, and lower caste people), but starting to improve based on sheer desperation because of the declining population and economy. Unfortunately, few have the language competency required to work here, and basically no one here can speak English, which makes it really hard to attract people, as the government has not put in the support measures like Korea (a more densely populated place with an even lower birthrate!). It's not uncommon to see Desi, Vietnamese and Thai workers in convenience stores in Tokyo now though.
Slow down, that shouldn't change.
There's a mountain range that runs essentially down the middle of the entire country, which makes human habitation largely untenable in those areas. No one's coming for the forest there.
Very cool. How hard was it to emigrate? Did you learn the language?
I learned the language during high school, working in Japan after that, then doing a lot of translation work work back in Australia. In recent years we just visit visa-free for three months each year, and stay in this old house up north in exchange for doing a few jobs around the place to stop it deteriorating further after the winter chill.
If we wanted to live here full-time we'd have to get local jobs, but I have zero interest in working for a Japanese company. Would sooner start my own business, which has gotten easier recently but is still highly monitored for the first few years.
Nice. Yeah a friend of mine is trying to move there but it's taking him many years, also learned the language etc and playing the visa games. I never been and have so much expectations from it I want to make it special when I go, but I know immigration isn't for me because I don't think I can be arsed learning the language.
Learning Japanese takes a lot of effort. I'm in it for over one year and I still find myself amazed at anything I understand, even it's gotten more common.