When this story dropped into my mail box a few moments ago, I did a double take.

I mean, come on, you have got to be kidding.

“Japan mulls limiting foreign residents to 3 percent of population

A Justice Ministry panel studying an overhaul of Japan’s immigration administration is set to propose that the proportion of foreign residents to the nation’s population should be kept at 3 percent or below, Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono said Tuesday…”

(Full story here)

Oohh makes me want to run amock in the Diet with a brick, or maybe a bulldozer actually… How backwards are those damn politicians?

The thing is though, no matter what they do, they won’t stop the influx. And besides, they need us gaijin. With a rapidly aging population on their hands they need folks like us to clean out their bedpans and turn the TV over from one cookery talkshow to another.

The Japanese government is not known for its tolerance of foreigners. This year sees the reintroduction of the fingerprinting and photographing of all gaijin upon arrival. Oh, and schools are now assessing children on their patriotism, then there was yesterday’s story about the teacher who was fined thousands of pounds for encouraging children not to stand up during the playing of the country’s emperor-worshipping national anthem, with all its connections with wartime atrocities, which have yet to be admitted to…

grr grr.

Time for bed.