Basic Uniqueness of Japan
Ratios of foreign-born residents in OECD countries as of 2011 or so:
Country Percentage
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1 Luxembourg 42.1
2 Switzerland 27.3
3 Australia 26.7
4 Israel 23.9
5 New Zealand 23.6
6 Canada 20.1
7 Ireland 16.8
8 Austria 16.0
9 Estonia 15.7
10 Sweden 15.1
11 Belgium 14.9
12 Spain 14.6
13 Germany 13.1
14 US 13.0
15 Norway 12.4
16 UK 12.0
17 France 11.6
18 Netherlands 11.4
19 Slovenia 11.2
20 Iceland 10.9
21 Italy 9.0
22 Portugal 8.3
23 Denmark 7.9
24 Russia 7.9
25 Greece 6.6
26 Czech 6.4
27 Finland 4.9
28 Hungary 4.7
29 Slovakia 3.9
30 Chile 2.2
31 Turkey 2.0
32 Poland 1.8
33 JAPAN 1.1
34 Mexico 0.9
(http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/1170a.html)
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Major countries such as the US, Germany, France, and the UK have foreign-born residents in ratios roughly between 11 to 13%.
Japan has 10 times less foreign-born people internally than those major countries. In this context, social systems and economic systems that have worked well in those major countries might not necessarily work in Japan.
Incidentally, foreign-born residents in Japan usually mean Koreans and Chinese. They look like Japanese in most cases, so that Japanese citizens don't feel strange or pressure when they see Koreans and Chinese in streets of Japanese cities.
(In South Korea, among its 50 million population 600,000 foreigners live at least for three months, meaning 1.2% of the foreign-born visitors/residents ratio.)
Though today various G20 countries, including China and India, are engaged in international adjustment and harmonization efforts claiming their uniqueness, in the 20th century Japan was the only non-European/non-Christian nation involved in world order led by western powers. It was not easy for Japan to advance to one of major industrial powers in the world in the 20th century, since Japan started its version of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century.
So, some international trade treaty such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now being strongly promoted by the US cannot easily fit social and economic conditions of Japan, if it does not take into account this kind of uniqueness of Japan.
What can smoothly apply to a country where 10% of the population are foreign born cannot often easily apply to a nation where only 1% of residents are not genuine.
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Joh 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Joh 9:7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.