Jackie Lay / NPR
TOKYO — As China’s economy continues to grow at a slower pace than in recent decades, Chinese businesses and households are moving money overseas at the highest rate in seven years, according to government statistics. But while the U.S. has long been a preferred destination of wealthy and middle-class Chinese emigrants, they are increasingly headed to Japan, according to analysts and immigration consultants.
Among the recent arrivals is a former Beijing-based journalist, who moved to Japan last year. He asked that NPR not use his name to protect family still in China. The journalist says that many of his friends among China’s elite were avid cheerleaders for the government policies that had brought them affluence and success. But he says that strict COVID lockdowns changed their minds. “They discovered their advanced degrees, money and connections could not help them with their most basic travel and living needs,” he says, “and it was a big blow to them.” So, middle and upper-class Chinese are increasingly joining a migration wave to Japan, he says.
British immigration consulting firm Henley and Partners estimated in June that 13,500 Chinese millionaires (in dollar terms) would emigrate in 2023, more than from any other country. And China’s middle class are following their lead. Chinese already made up the largest group of foreign nationals in Japan overall. Recent news reports suggest the number of Chinese citizens entering Japan on business manager visas hit a record of more than 2,000 last year.
Last year, Chinese residents coined a buzzword — “run-ology” — a play on words in Chinese referring to the art and science of emigrating. In Mandarin the word for run also means profit. There are plenty of reasons lately for China’s middle class and elites to vote with their feet: a government crackdown on tycoons, a faltering real estate sector and geopolitical jousting with the United States. But the journalist says that for people like himself, it basically boils down to three things.
“One is your children’s education and medical care,” he says. He explains that there is a huge gap in educational opportunities among China’s social classes, and for many middle-class families, emigration or getting their child into an international school in China are the best options. “The other is the long-term safety of your family’s assets,” he adds. “And for people in the fields of culture and media, there’s another demand, which is freedom of thought and speech.”
The journalist says that moving to Japan emboldens some Chinese to criticize their government. China tries to slow the run But others, like himself, are more careful, he says, because authorities sometimes pressure their relatives in China to discourage them from speaking out. Of course, he says, there are workarounds. “If you write a letter to your mother,” he says, “stating that you’ve severed relations with her, and she gives that to the police, then they may stop bothering her.” Some worried parents won’t resort to this workaround, he adds, even if it’s just a tactic to get the authorities off their backs.
There are also financial hurdles for Chinese seeking to move to Japan. To prevent capital flight, China only allows each citizen to buy $50,000 in foreign currency each year. But when authorities block one channel, another springs up. To end-run the restrictions, Chinese resort to underground banks and art auctions to move their money.
Many who manage to get their money out are investing in Japanese real estate. A Chinese consultant surnamed Liu, who advises Chinese investing in Japan, says her clients prefer to buy homes in Tokyo’s posh apartment towers. She also asks to use only her last name, because emigration in China is a sensitive topic. “In Tokyo, I advise them to purchase property near subway stations or those which have a view of Tokyo tower, because I’m sure their price won’t go down,” Liu says. Liu says she has interviewed hundreds of Chinese who have gone to Japan, roughly a quarter of whom are wealthy, with incomes of 10 million yen ($70,600) or more, while the rest are mostly middle class. In recent years, she says has seen Chinese people increasingly choose to relocate to Japan over English-speaking countries.