The Business Times
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Why is Japan souring on foreign workers and tourists?

It is a dangerous attitude for an ageing country that needs more immigrants

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Published Tue, Jan 6, 2026 · 05:30 PM
    • Chinese tourists at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo. Arrivals from China to Japan have been depressed in the wake of a recent diplomatic spat.
    • Chinese tourists at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo. Arrivals from China to Japan have been depressed in the wake of a recent diplomatic spat. PHOTO: REUTERS

    NARA, Japan’s ancient capital, is known for its temples and its deer, which are said to be messengers of the gods.

    Recently, these beloved cervids have become embroiled in a very earthly mess. During her campaign last year to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Takaichi Sanae, a Nara native and now Japan’s prime minister, declared that foreign visitors had been kicking the sacred animals.

    “Don’t you think something has gone too far?” she railed.

    JapanSanae TakaichiTourismDemographicseconomyLabour Market

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