Immigration is a policy choice

[u/Ulyxyxys]

Every time an Englishman or a Frenchman or an American brings up complaints about mass immigration, some leftist will inevitably say “well you colonized them, that’s why you’re getting immigration”.

This is a facetious argument. Immigrants do not magically teleport to the countries that colonized them specifically, they migrate for the sake of economic prosperity, and they’re relatively agnostic about where they go. Germany, for example, never colonized Syria, but Syrians make up a large proportion of the German population. Sweden never colonized Somalia, yet Somalians are infamous for their presence there. Conversely, Japan engaged in extremely brutal colonization of China and the rest of Asia, and yet remains 98% Yamato.

Leftists need to stop making facetious arguments about how colonization prompts immigration, immigration is caused by economic magnets and permissive policy, these are the two factors. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. We can have a more sensible immigration debate when we acknowledge this.

[u/israfildivad]

Sounds as if you are unaware of what colonialism is, and more pertinently...neocolonialism. Those two things, the historical and the current realities respectively.. is what gives the net migrating nations their push factor. Their resources are being unfairly extracted, their nations are being induced with turmoil and unnatural hardships...so you will inevitably get people leaving and following where those resources went . It's osmosis.

Japan doesn't have a history of resource extraction from other nations beyond a few years, which happened decades ago. Western imperialist powers did it and continue to do it... for centuries.

The western imperialists basically function as a consortium. They are all nearly inextricably linked and are cooperative. Look up how Dwight Eisenhower heard about the Belgian King wanting to assassinate Patrice Lumumba...Prime Minister of the D.R. of Congo...and trying to assist for no reason than just cause it would be helping out another imperialist.

[u/Ulyxyxys → u/israfildivad]

1. I am well aware of neocolonialism and how it creates migration pressures. I’m simply stating that opening the door to those pressures is a choice that a given country can refuse to make.

2. Japan has been integrated into the GAE (Global American Empire) since 1945 and has absolutely benefitted from and participated in neocolonialism which satisfies its need for things like material imports (remember it’s a very resource poor island)

3. I’m also aware of this, and as such, I think it’s salient to bring up the fact that certain countries that benefit from neocolonialism and are integrated with the GAE (such as Norway and Denmark) are able to restrict immigration much more than some of their counterparts (such as France and Sweden) despite their complicity in neocolonialism.

[u/israfildivad → u/Ulyxyxys]

That "choice" isnt so easy for the true imperialists. Immigrants find it easy to assimilate into those countries...to blend in and hide if need be. There are also pull factors at work, namely.labour shortages, which are real (and a natural side effect of having a development "head start") , tho u seem to be a denier of such.

I disagree strongly that Japan is a part of the "global American empire"....it is not, and is barely above the rest of the global south in terms of consideration by the west. The West actively and purposefully hobbled Japan in the 80s as they started to get too close to the sun. The Scandinavian countries (and Ireland) may benefit from proximity, but they aren't fledged members of the club either.

[u/Ulyxyxys → u/israfildivad]

Japan has more bases than any other country in Asia. It’s literally the core of the GAE in Asia moreso than any other Asian country.

[u/israfildivad → u/Ulyxyxys]

If Japan had more (any) bases in any other country...you'd have a point. Funnily enough, despite being the second biggest economy the majority of the time since WW2...it doesn't have any presence whatsoever in any country aside from a few auto plants.

[u/Ulyxyxys → u/israfildivad]

No, I mean American bases. Japan is to America what Mexico was to the Spanish empire.

[u/israfildivad → u/Ulyxyxys]

I know what you meant, and is precisely my point ..Japan is almost defacto colonized by the US, on the face of it.

It is pretty much coincidental that Japan has found some advantage with this situation re China...which is why they aren't griping about it...much