AI is trained to speak positively about immigration (example inside)

Japan relies on labour scarcity to guarantee full employment and decent wages, accepting economic decline. Spain, by contrast, prefers growth through immigration, accepting unemployment and job insecurity.

## Japan's closed-doors model

Japan has been built on a strict, almost hermetic migration policy. It is an island, yes, but the decision to keep its borders closed to immigration is not merely geographical; it is a political choice spanning decades. Entering Japan without a prior visa is, in practice, impossible. And if you somehow manage to stay without papers, the system becomes an insurmountable wall. Forget about renting a decent flat; without a **Residence Card (Zairyu Card)**, a Japanese employment contract with the corresponding payslips and, often, a Japanese guarantor or a guarantee company, estate agents will slam the door in your face. Some even require you to speak the language. For tourists or those in an irregular situation, the options boil down to rooms in *guesthouses* or *sharehouses* rented by the week, often at exorbitant prices, or finding rentals among foreigners via **Facebook**, with no guarantees or formal contracts. The harshest alternative is sleeping in a *net cafe* or *manga cafe*.

The direct consequence of this lockdown is a country where foreigners make up barely **2.5%** of the population. The system is not designed to accommodate those without documentation; you could not even sign a contract legally. If you are caught in an irregular situation, deportation is automatic, with a return ban of **five to ten years**. That is why anyone who wants to live in **Osaka** or any other Japanese city first secures a work or student visa and only then looks for housing. It is a model that prioritises the absence of irregular immigrants above all else, even at the cost of running out of labour and watching its villages empty.

## Spain: the open door and its effects

At the other end of the spectrum is Spain, a southern border of **Europe** with thousands of kilometres of coastline and a geography that makes entry easy, especially from North Africa. On top of this, a European asylum and protection system effectively allows those who arrive irregularly to enter the country and, over time, regularise their status. The **municipal registration (empadronamiento)** process, access to renting, the possibility of working informally and, finally, the option of applying for **arraigo** (a residency permit based on proven ties to Spain) create a path, albeit a complex one, to integration.

This model, unlike Japan's, has led to a significant increase in the foreign population. The figures speak for themselves: while **Japan** has barely **2.5%** foreigners, in Spain the proportion is considerably higher. The physical ease of crossing the border and the internal regularisation routes are the keys. Spain, together with other EU countries such as **Italy** and **Portugal**, has opted for a system that prioritises entry rights and then tries to manage the migratory flow. The economic consequences of this openness are hotly debated, but the reality is that a country with such a permeable border and a system that allows integration, however slow, works in a radically different way from a fortified island.

## Unemployment and crime? The complex relationship with immigration

The idea that immigration inevitably brings more unemployment and crime is a simplification that does not hold up when we look at the data. **Japan**, with its closed-doors policy, boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, around **2.5%** for two decades. But this is not due to a lack of immigration; it is due to a lack of people. The country suffers a chronic shortage of workers; there are more job openings than candidates, a situation that translates into **1.5 job openings per available worker**. This labour shortage is so acute that many shops close for lack of staff.

In Spain, the picture is different. Structural unemployment has been a constant since the 1980s, fluctuating between **11% and 12%**, regardless of migratory flows. Curiously, during the immigration boom between **2000 and 2008**, unemployment in Spain fell to **8%**. And today, with a record number of foreigners, unemployment is at its lowest level in **15 years**. Statistics from the **Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE)**, Spain's national statistics institute, show that unemployment in Spain is more closely linked to its labour model, temporary contracts and the construction sector than to the number of immigrants.

As for crime, **Japan** has one of the lowest rates on the planet, with just **0.2 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants**. While it is not free of problems such as the **yakuza**, scams targeting the elderly or domestic violence, violent street crime is virtually non-existent. In Spain, the crime rate has been falling for the past two decades, even though the foreign population has tripled. Homicide figures stand at **0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants**, historic lows. The statistics do show an overrepresentation of young, destitute irregular foreigners in offences such as petty theft and squatting, while drug trafficking and gender violence affect all nationalities.

## Supply and demand: the logic behind each model

The fundamental difference between the models of **Japan** and **Spain** lies in the application of the law of supply and demand in the labour market. **Japan** has chosen a model where the demand for labour far exceeds the supply. When there are **1.5 job offers per available person**, the worker holds the power. Unemployment is practically non-existent because if you are fired today, tomorrow you have another job lined up. Employers are forced to raise wages and improve conditions to attract and retain talent. A convenience store cashier in **Tokyo**, for example, can earn between **1,200 and 1,300 yen per hour**, roughly **7-8 euros**, a figure that has risen significantly over the last decade.

The cost of this model for **Japan** is slower economic growth and difficulty finding a generational succession in family businesses, leading to the closure of **30%** of them. In addition, the retirement age is being pushed back, with people working until **75**.

In **Spain**, the situation is the reverse: there are more people looking for work than jobs available. If there are, say, **five candidates for a waiter's or labourer's job**, the employer holds all the cards. They can offer the Salario Mínimo Interprofesional (**SMI**, Spain's statutory minimum wage) with a **20-hour** weekly contract and find someone willing to take it. This is especially precarious for low-skilled jobs in sectors such as hospitality, farming, delivery or construction. The criticism that the mass arrival of immigrants into these entry-level jobs, without job creation at the same pace, holds back wage growth is valid. That is why in Spain the **SMI** rises by decree, not because waiters are in short supply.

**Japan** has decided to accept a certain economic decline in order to maintain social cohesion and full employment. **Spain**, for its part, has opted for growth through population, accepting a higher level of unemployment and lower wages in return for keeping key sectors such as hospitality and agriculture running, sectors that without immigrant labour many Spaniards would no longer be willing to staff at current wages. These are two different strategies, each with its own sacrifices and benefits.