Japan, the nation that effortlessly marries the ancient with the modern, creating a unique and captivating cultural tapestry.
Renowned for its technological innovations and cutting-edge advancements, Japan stands at the forefront of global progress while remaining deeply rooted in its rich historical traditions. From the beauty of its shrines and temples to the bustling energy of its neon-lit cities, Japan offers a fascinating blend of old and new.
One cannot discuss Japan without mentioning its exquisite culinary heritage, cultural festivals, their dedication to excellence is also evident in its arts and craftsmanship, and lots more.
But Japan is also known for one of the biggest issues a nation can ever face.
And that is a decline in population.
The country has entered an era of full-fledged population decline, and if this trend remain unchanged, the nation's population is expected to decline to 63 million by 2100.
One of the solutions, is offering "Breeding Visas" to foreigners.
At first, the Japanese "breeding visa" was said to refer to be part of the "Designated Activities" visa, which allows foreigners to engage in activities not covered by other visa categories.
Designated Activities visa is made for those who wish to work in Japan for an extended period, or when they wish to have a long-term stay.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has explained in a dedicated web page, that the visa category is designed for highly skilled professionals who contribute to the innovation and future development of Japan.
And this includes researchers, engineers, and other specialists with advanced knowledge and skills.
The visa also covers the spouse of the applicant, allowing the legal partner that is dependent of the individuals holding the "Future Creation Talent" visa to also stay in Japan. This is to accompany the highly skilled professionals, so they can live together while the primary visa holder works in Japan.
Among the requirements to apply for this Designated Activities visa, is that the applicants need to be 118 years or older, and have savings equivalent to more than 30 million Japanese yen owned by them or their spouse.
Another requirement is that, dependent children cannot be allowed to accompany.
Due to the declining population of Japan, and because of the relatively ambiguous meaning of the title if translated to English, this is where people started spreading fake news about it.
It all began back on April Fools' Day in 2018, where a post from a Japanese culture news website claimed that the Japanese government will begin offering "breeding visas" for outsiders wishing to help the country out of its declining population and birth rates issues.
The post was a joke, and was titled "To combat declining birth rate, Japan to begin offering 'Breeding Visas' to foreigners."
A snippet of the article and many that were created after it, reposted out-of-context information for days, weeks, months, and even the following years.
Said visas would require applicants to provide evidence of at least one pregnancy that they helped induce, and that the applicants must be at least 21 years old, and in good physical and mental health.
And because it was meant to be a joke all along, it's said that applicant must also be a chūnin.
Chūnin, which means middle ninja, is a ninja who is qualified to watch over and guide other ninja. Chunin have reached a level of maturity that primarily consists of leadership skills and tactical prowess. And in this case, applicants should have this certification on the official Naruto Certification Exam.
While many people quickly considered this a hoax, many more fell for the joke.
This is because the chūnin part was mostly eliminated from the requirements in the various fake news.
As a result of this, posts on social media, as well as from Reddit and other forums, quickly went viral.
In 2020, this "Breeding Visas" to foreigners have become memes on Facebook, and that more memes were created in the following years.
The hoax again went viral on social media in June 2024 after the same headline was paired with a new picture, and again, many fell for the joke.
It's worth noting that the decline in birth rates in Japan is not caused by infertility, and instead is caused by a combination of factors.
From economic factors to social factors, cultural factors, as well as marriage trends. Then there is the gender toles, changing values, urbanization and more.
These factors collectively contribute to Japan's low birth rate and declining population.
The government is aware of the issue and has been attempting various measures to address it, but reversing the trend has proven challenging, and one of the ways is certainly not a breeding visa.