THE Japanese are in love with Malaysia -- from the people to the food. And this has made them among the top applicants for the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

Sixty-one-year-old Steve Tanida has lived here for several years, and he is excited by the prospect of taking on a contract job which will be permitted next month under the new MM2H regulations.

"I would like to give karate lessons to as many Malaysians as possible," said the former Panasonic employee who has a condominium in Mont Kiara.

The Japan Long Stay Foundation has ranked Malaysia as the first choice for Japanese retirees over Thailand and Vietnam. In the past two years, with 401 applications for MM2H, the Japanese have been outnumbered only by the British and Iranians.

Mitsutomo Watanabe said he loves Malaysia for its friendly people and the good and affordable food.
"Everything is fine except for one minor detail, the authorities take too long to approve MM2H applications.

"Many of my friends, who are well-known Japanese businessmen, have lost interest in MM2H because the authorities sometimes take as long as six months to a year to approve applications.

"So they have set up second homes in Thailand and Vietnam instead," said the 68-year-old, who has lived in Subang Jaya with his wife and daughters for the past two years.

A Tourism Ministry official denied it takes that long.

"We have to do a lot of checking on each individual and this can be time consuming.

"We have to check their background, and do a police vetting to ensure they don't have a 'past' and that only quality applicants are allowed in," said the official.