US President Joe Biden accuses Japan of xenophobia
In a campaign speech designed to raise funds for his election, Joe Biden described his Japanese ally as xenophobic, placing it on the same list as Russia and China.
He had already stressed last month that, in his view, China's economic difficulties are due to the fact that, unlike the United States, it does not welcome foreigners.
He reiterated this statement in a speech in Washington: ‘You know, one of the reasons for the development of our economy is you and many others. Why is that? Because we welcome immigrants,’ he said. ‘The reason why - think about it - China is doing so badly economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why does Russia have problems? Because they are xenophobic countries, they don't want immigrants’.
The fact that he mentioned Japan in the same breath as the United States' two greatest enemies, China and Russia, is sure to arouse the ire of Japanese leaders.
Japan is America's greatest ally in the Pacific. The two countries reiterated and strengthened this alliance last month during Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Washington.
This statement is all the more surprising given that the number of foreigners outside tourism rose by 10 per cent last year, bringing the number of foreign residents in Japan to 3.4 million.
On the other hand, a survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's leading daily newspapers, shows that 62 per cent of the population believes that more foreign workers should be welcomed to Japan. In the same survey in 2018, only 44 per cent were in favour.
(MYukio/Source: The Japan Times/Photo: Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels)
