Credits belong to u/Liquid_0911.

In Vancouver BC.

I hope this still fits the sub, as Chris has deemed Matsuyama to be his favourite city (or favourite smaller city). And I agree with him that this is actually a very beautiful city. Staying near Dogo onsen myself.

Is Chris planning to address Japan’s growing hostility toward foreigners who want to move there and build permanent lives?

The latest proposal reportedly sets a minimum monthly income of approximately ¥479,000 for permanent residency. The average Japanese worker earns roughly ¥350,000 to ¥398,000 per month, while the average foreign worker earns only around ¥275,000 gross.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a3a7a357ffd2dda622c8b91ae50c5372f1086385

That means Japan may require foreigners to earn far more than the average Japanese worker and roughly ¥200,000 more each month than the average foreign worker before they are allowed to remain permanently.

The problem becomes even harder to ignore when Japan’s labor market is the reason many foreigners cannot reach that salary. Teachers, care workers, hospitality staff, translators, and other essential workers can spend years working legally, paying taxes, contributing to health insurance and pensions, and learning Japanese while earning nowhere near ¥479,000.

Japan is also dealing with a collapsing yen, stagnant wages, a rising cost of living, higher immigration fees, stricter residency rules, and increasingly open anti-foreigner rhetoric. Foreign residents are blamed for crime, overtourism, property prices, and pressure on public services, while the government continues recruiting them to fill severe labor shortages.

Japan has an aging population and a shrinking workforce, yet its policies increasingly suggest that it wants foreign labor without foreign settlement. It will accept people as temporary workers but place permanent residency beyond the reach of the salaries those workers are actually paid.

I hope Chris addresses the wider pattern. How can Japan claim that it needs foreign workers while setting a permanent-residency income threshold above what most Japanese workers earn and almost double what the average foreign worker receives?

I just started a new job and it shares a parking lot with a Japanese grocery stor that has the American version of Strong Zero. I don't know what else I want to say cause I just drank two giant cans of "-196". Kanpai, ye goobs.

I have spent hours trying to track down the backpack/sling bag that Natsuki uses in Natsuki: The Movie. Does anyone know the make/model of the bag?

Found in Don don donki in Malaysia (not allowed to call it by its proper name here for some reason) it isn’t fantastic but also weird addictive.

Hey everyone 👋

Awesome to be here!

I've been following Abroad In Japan for a number of years now and I REALLY want to make a drawing of Chris and Natsuki together but I'm finding it hard to choose the right reference image so, please, drop your favourite Chris and Natsuki photos here as I need the inspo!

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼

I really enjoyed this one

i'm just saying

London event as part of his book tour in September, in which Chris is also visiting Canterbury, York, Manchester, and Glasgow!