The Japan Question

Correct. Replace Japan with Korea, it fits just as well. Racial identity is absolutely fundamental to their national identity. They are one and the same. That may well change in 50 years but not in the short term.

 

Japan is a multicultural country and always has been.

 

lol. you've lost your mind. you mean the Ainu?

 

Yeah. We've been living in a different area of Japan for 6 years now (Kobe) so while we feel comfortable in principle here, your suggestion still holds given it's a different neighbourhood. The motivators for biting the bullet now are moving house is a PITA, relocating kids too often can have adverse effects on their social development, and other things like hefty, non-refundable 'key money' you've got to pay in Japan when signing a new lease.

 

Yep. This thread was created to determine how ridiculous the idea is. I'm marking you down in the ridiculous column.

 

Have you been to Japan?

The Ainu is one group, but there are many different Japanese cultures. Osaka is different to Tokyo. Different language dialect, food and customs etc. Okinawa is a completely different language to tokyo Japanese - unintelligible. There are hundreds of different dialects on the mainland too. Kyoto dialect is different to Osaka dialect for example.

And then there are the Chinese and Korean immigrants and exchanges. Buddhism was introduced from Pakchae Korea by immigrants in about 520ad and there was much contact and migration before then.Chinese were settling in Japan in large numbers from around 500. Many retained their own Chinese dialects without learning Japanese. This continued up until the 1800s. As recently as the 1700 Chinese Zen monks were coming to live in Japan one example is Tetsugen (Japanese pronounciation) who established Mankupukji in Kyoto, He couldn't speak Japanese. When he died the next abbot appointed was also Chinese and this started a tradition of having all abbots Chinese until recently.

Now there are large numbers of non-Japanse citizens living there and large numbers of foreigners becoming Japanese citizens - one famous American is Deibido Arudo who I think livesi n Hokkaido.

I think the Miss Japan currently is part foreigner.

My children live in Japan and there are foreigners going to the public schools.

So yes Japan has always been multicultural. Its just different to the multiculture of Australia.

 

Yes, Plenty of times. Lived in Kyobashi (Osaka).

Your comment makes sense to me now. Believe what you like

 

Kyobashi is not far from tsuruhashi which is a Korean area!

Not everyone with black hair is the same

 

Fully furnish it and rent it out when you aren't there on airbnb or longer term to foreigners that are living there and teaching English or something. You'll get the extra income and you'll have the flexibility to get people to leave if needed.

 

My problem with AirBnb is that if anything goes wrong I'm 8000km away, though I'm sure I could arrange an agent to manage it for me. Certainly would be a nice thing to have come August 2020.

 

There's no shortage of foreigners wanting flexible accom. Just do it for a 1 to 3 month minimum per room. A cousin or friend can show potential tenants the place or drop the key off, do inspections every month or so.

 

Why would Japanese banks lend 95% for depreciating assets that appear to certainly lose value in the first few years?

 

The property depreciates in value but I still have to pay off the $600k loan plus interest. I make the loss not the bank. Let's also assume there's a low loan default rate in Japan.

 

I have built a brand new home in Osaka. It must be about 8 years old now and is still in good Nick but you can see it is wearing out. We demolished 8 units to built it because the units were at the end of their lifespan.

I think if you plan to live in it you might as well borrow to buy or build as if you rent you will probably be paying the same or more in annual payments but you won't have that ownership feeling.

 

Sorry to hijack this thread.

I am interested in getting investment property in Japan but it seems hard to get a loan for non resident.

I have IPs and jobs in Australia, I have read there is case by case basis to get a loan from banks in Japan, can anyone with the experience share their stories on how to get one?

 

I know of no lender that would lend. Could you borrow against Australian property?

 

Terry....I think you must be smokin' Cailfornia pot!

Japan and Korea are very monocultural societies.....they still not give people citizenship. They did allow people of Japanese background from places like Brazil and Peru to take up citizenship...for others it has been very hard.

They had to give the Ainu and Okinawans citizenship but they are still treated differently.

Obviously you did not read about the furore about the Miss World being only part Japanese.

Having said that the younger Japanese are more accepting....hopefully it is a matter of time before they allow immigration in....otherwise they will have huge issues. Let this be a lesson for Australia.

As for Korea...they are more hard nosed...and very closed ....so is China...both of these countries are going to have address their ageing populations.

The countries which are managing this well believe it or not are Anglo countries - Australia, NZ, Canada, USA, and UK...followed by countries like Germany, Sweden, Norway..they get it.

We have too many dumb ****$ in this country sayin' that we need to limit immigration .....well people to do that is death. The skills required are not readily available here..so we have to look overseas....

 

As an example, Both of my daughters are Japanese citizens and the youngest one is in middle school there. Her maths teacher is a 'white' Russian who has lived in Japan all of her life and is a native Japanese speaker. She teaches maths in Japanese like the rest.

On a recent trip I also come across a 'white' guy about working in a 7/11 shop speaking Japanese. He even spoke to me in Japanese - I wanted to ask him what he was doing there, but thought that might be a bit rude.

Even with the 'Japanese' looking people there are many different cultures in Japan. People in Osaka speak a different dialect to those in Tokyo. The culture of the north is completely different to that of the South. Okinawans speak a different language completely. There there are the Ainu population.

It is actually easier to gain citizenship in Japan than in Australia.

I stand by my comments that Japan is multicultural - and always has been.

 

Multicultural Japan: Palaeolithic To Postmodern
by Donald Denoon (Editor)
This book challenges the conventional view of Japanese society as being monocultural and homogenous. Unique for its historical breadth and interdisciplinary orientation, this study extends from the prehistoric phase to the present. It challenges the notion that Japan's monoculture is being challenged only because of internationalism, arguing that cultural diversity has always existed in Japan. It is a provocative discussion of identity politics around the question of "Japaneseness." The paperback edition has a new epilogue
Multicultural Japan: Palaeolithic To Postmodern by Donald Denoon

 

If I can borrow against Australian property, which lender would lend?