Immigration becomes hot topic in Japan

Turkish kebab restaurant worker Gur Sinan "loves" and feels welcome in Japan, but anxiety is growing in a country with historically low levels of immigration, just as the ruling party picks a new leader.

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"I want to stay here for a long time," Sinan, 30, said in Warabi, dotted with halal stores and shops with Chinese signs.

"I am studying Japanese. People are very nice here," he said.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a new head tomorrow, who will most likely become the next prime minister after Shigeru Ishiba decided to step down.

The two frontrunners, arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi and the youthful Shinjiro Koizumi, are talking tough on foreigners.

Takaichi says Japan should "reconsider policies that allow in people with completely different cultures and backgrounds".