Section 5. Emigration
1. Overview
Emigrants (Japanese traveling to foreign countries to seek permanent residence) totaled about 2,800 in 1986, with about 58% of them going to the United States, 30% to Latin America and 12% to other areas, showing little change from the emigration patterns of recent years. The cumulative total of emigrants in the postwar period until 1986 is about 250,000, and the combined total of these emigrants and people of Japanese descent living abroad is estimated at 1.7 million.
2. Emigration Council
In March 1987, the Prime Minister asked the Emigration Council, a government advisory body on emigration policy, to consider a wide range of aspects relating to the rapid increase of Japanese nationals residing overseas. In addition to assistance to emigrants already settled down in foreign countries, the Council was asked to consider such matters as safety, children's education and medical care as well as the enhancement of the understanding on the international society following the large increase in recent years of Japanese residents abroad that came together with the internationalization of the Japanese economy and society. Upon the Prime Minister's request the Council decided to set up working groups to study a future course of concrete measures and actions in each area.
3. Emigration Assistance Activities
(1) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
The activities of JICA, implementing body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, include (a) counseling and other services for those wishing to emigrate, (b) farm management assistance, medical care, education of the youth, improvements of roads and other living environment, financing of business funds and other forms of support for emigrants already settled in foreign countries, and (c) sending to foreign countries Overseas Development Youth of young people showing interest in settlement overseas and cooperation with local communities there. For these activities, the Foreign Ministry allocated to JICA the amount of \2,157.5 million for various assistance programmers and of \1,250 million for lending activities in fiscal 1986.
(2) Other Activities
The Foreign Ministry provided subsidization for invitation programmers of foreign students by local governments, dissemination of information on foreign countries, the Japanese Agricultural Training Council's programme to send the youth in the agricultural sector to the United States for two years, studies in Japan by the youth of Japanese emigrants sponsored by the Japan Overseas Emigrants' Family Association, invitation programme of groups of Japanese descent residing in foreign countries. etc.