Is Japan a comfortable country for foreigners to live in?

My answer to this question is NO. Many foreigners might enjoy life in Japan and feel comfortable to live in. But over all, I believe that they are facing some difficulties. I’d like to talk why I think so using following two points.

First, accommodation issue. In Japan, we have a complicated system for rented apartment such as key money. This kind of custom is far beyond foreigner’s sense.

Besides, landlords hesitate to let apartment for foreigners. Because extremely biased image has been widespread among landlords. For example, Chinese don't pay money and leave without any notice. Westerns have a binge late night and so on. As a result, they would have difficulties to find apartment, if any they would be charged extra money with 10 to 20% more. So called foreigner’s fare. This is the one of the reason they feel uncomfortable.

Second, isolation at work place. Foreigners are given less responsibility even if they are talented. Let’s take example from my wife’s work place. She is a school nurse at junior high school. The school has a native English speaker as assistant. But, Japanese coworkers even teacher of English avoid talking with foreigners. I guess this is the result of Japanese characteristic. They are not willing to speak using unfamiliar language in public. Or they lack of social skill against foreigners. My wife doesn't hesitate to talk even if her low level English. She seems to support her forging coworker from simple translation to personal care such as how to get shampoo. But it might be a few and far between. Anyway, the turn over rate of English assistants is extremely high.

I believe that it’s a good evidence that they feel uncomfortable at their work place.

In conclusion, it’s no exaggeration to say that Japan is not a comfortable country for foreigners to live in. Japan is a good destination to visit as tourist though.