A Japanese economist has warned that Japan should use caution following a loosening of regulations on foreign labourers claiming that the country should not open the gates to mass migration as Sweden has in the recent past.

Economist Takaaki Mitsuhashi commented on the new reforms, which aim to combat the rapidly ageing Japanese workforce, saying that while he welcomed foreigners into Japan, he did not want to see the country follow the path of Sweden, Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio Oy reports.

“Foreigners, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have settled in districts that they have since completely taken over,” Mitsuhashi said and added that police refuse to enter certain areas.

While police are still present in so-called no-go areas, there have been multiple occasions where they, and other emergency services, have been attacked and have even delayed responding to emergency calls while waiting for backup to arrive, feeling unable to proceed in smaller numbers into the areas.

Mitsuhashi visited the no-go Stockholm suburb of Husby, where local businesses have experienced difficulty hiring security guards due to crime and violence, describing his impressions of the area saying, “whatever it was, it was not Sweden. We do not want this development in Japan.”

“Look at how it has been for Sweden, so you get a good picture of how it becomes when you open the country for immigration. Sweden and Japan have about the same basic conditions, high gross domestic product and free, democratic societies,” he added.

Another issue facing Sweden but not mentioned by Mitsuhashi is the much higher rate of unemployment among Swedish residents from foreign backgrounds compared to the native population.

A report last year showed that the unemployment rate for native Swedes was around 3.9 percent, while the foreign-born unemployment rate topped 21.8 percent.

A study released last year by the Swedish Expert Group on Public Finance (ESO) also showed that migrant children arriving in the country after age seven were also performing so poorly in schools that half were unable to pass grade nine.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com