Immigrants could be the answer to Japan’s population crisis, but is it ready?

Japan’s government recently passed a law that will give work visas to hundreds of thousands of low-skilled foreign workers as it tries to replenish a rapidly shrinking workforce. The country, which has historically seen itself as culturally and ethnically homogenous, has a deeply ambivalent attitude toward immigration, and the new law is drawing its fair share of controversy. Opponents say it’s too vague. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insists the workers who enter Japan under the new law will be there only temporarily, sparking concerns it risks making immigrant workers second class citizens. Regardless,  it is a major immigration overhaul in all but name, say observers.