During the 1980's, government policies supported new urban development away from large Japanese cities. These cities offered comparatively lower costs of living, smaller communities and a more peaceful, relaxed life than in larger cities. This method suggests a mode of suburbanization, in which people move to these suburban areas but commute to the larger cities for professional or educational purposes.
According to the recent survey of 2002, the number of registered foreigners in Japan is 1,851,758, which equates to 1.45% of Japanese population. The number of permanent residents among these foreigners is 713,775. About 15,000 foreigners acquire Japanese nationality by naturalization every year. Many people also acquire Japanese nationalities by international marriages. The Japanese government has laid down several policies to protect the rights and duties of the migrating population to Japan .
The number of foreigners migrating to Japan has been increasing rapidly in the past few years. In 1992, the number of foreign arrivals was four million and the number of foreigners who outstayed their visas was about 300,000. Japan does not permit unskilled foreign workers to their country, however, at present there are about 300,000 to 500,000 illegal workers in the country. Japan does not have strong legal immigration rules like UK and USA, as in that case it would accept only 125,000 immigrants annually. On the contrary, Japan is tolerable to unauthorized workers and accepts foreign workers in the form of trainees and students.
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