G.O.A.T. of the week - JAPAN'S DIGITAL NOMAD VISA IS LAUNCHING IN MARCH - (FORBES)

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” - Mark Twain 

Why is this political? Simple. The world is an interconnected web of countries, cultures, and peoples. Pull one strand, and the entire thing collapses. The pandemic illustrated that we are more global than we realized. 

(The Golden Palace aka Kinkakuji in Kyoto - my picture)

First off, let me just say that everyone should go to Japan at least once in their lives! I was lucky enough to celebrate my 20th birthday over there back in 2005 and it was one of the best vacations I have ever been on! Why should one travel to Japan besides the obvious? Condé Nast Traveler describes Japan to be “one of the safest countries in the world (second place after Finland) for people to travel to” (James). I can tell you from when I visited, that it is not an exaggeration. You could leave your laptop and personal belongings in a Starbucks to go use the restroom and no one would even think to try to take anything while you were absent dealing with ‘your business.’ I once got lost and only knew minimal Japanese, but I never felt unsafe or felt like there were any bad areas I would have to worry about finding myself in. I visited Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara prefecture. 

(At a Geisha House - my picture)

"Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other's cultures." - Cesar Chavez

This new nomadic visa, that takes effect in March, allows for remote workers to stay in the country for up to 6 months. The crux of this is though, for those wishing to purchase long-term housing once the six months are up, it is not possible to renew the visa while still living in the country. A traveler must go home and renew from their citizenship country for it to be legally accessible once again (Kelleher). This is fantastic news though as in 2023, the option was only open for workers to stay legally in the country for 90 days before being expected to leave (Japan International Travel Information). The one caveat is that people hoping to take advantage of this new program must be making at least $68k. Of course, the option is still open to travel with a valid passport for 90 days if you do not qualify for that aspect.  

(Buddha at Todaji Palace, Nara Prefecture - my picture)

This is also important because there was an article from this past week written by AP news that Japan is “officially in a recession” (Kageyama). While the United States was able to bounce our economy back from the edge of the abyss, Japan was unsuccessful in doing the same because of aftereffects from the pandemic and because of their aging population. They have now slipped into 4th place, behind Germany for world economies (Associated Press). This visa will hopefully encourage young workers from all parts of the globe to use their hard-earned money to pump back into the economy and give the Japanese government a fighting chance from remaining in a long-lasting recession. Because, after all, the Japanese citizens still vividly remember the economic stagnation of the “lost generation” from the 1990s. While that period saw employment opportunities taken away during their frozen economy for the Japanese citizenry, this new nomadic visa will have workers who are already employed from their own home countries boosting much needed money into Japanese society. It only helps Japan.  

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” - Aldous Huxley 

Sources: 

Associated Press. “Japan Slips Into a Recession and Loses Its Spot as the World’s Third-Largest Economy.” US News & World Report, 15 Feb. 2024, www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2024-02-14/japan-slips-to-the-worlds-fourth-largest-economy-behind-the-us-china-and-now-germany. 

James, Sarah. “These Are the Safest Countries in the World in 2023.” Condé Nast Traveler, 28 June 2023, www.cntraveler.com/stories/safest-countries-in-the-world#:~:text=Japan&text=Japan%20is%20the%20ninth%20most,to%20do%20in%20the%20country. 

Japan International Travel Information. travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Japan.html#:~:text=You%20must%20have%20a%20valid,day%20%22visa%20free%22%20entry. 

Kageyama, Yuri. “Recession: Japan Has Lost Its Spot as the World’s Third-largest Economy | AP News.” AP News, 15 Feb. 2024, apnews.com/article/japan-economy-2023-gdp-893d53deba654c4924e4924f0b321cc5. 

KarolinaPatryk. “Top Motivational Travel Quotes That Will Fuel Your Wanderlust!” Lazy Travel Blog, 3 Jan. 2020, karolinapatryk.com/top-motivational-travel-quotes. 

Kelleher, Suzanne Rowan. “Japan’s Digital Nomad Visa Is Launching in March.” Forbes, 9 Feb. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2024/02/09/japans-digital-nomad-visa-2024/?sh=49aa48655d43. 

Solutions, Pi Digi-Logical. Political Quotes | Quotes for Life. 17 Apr. 2017, thequotesforlife.com/tag/political-quotes. 

SnarkyNomad, About. The Best of Mark Twain’s Travel Quotes – Snarky Nomad. 19 Mar. 2014, snarkynomad.com/the-best-of-mark-twains-travel-quotes.