3,100 'specified skills' foreigners in Japan far below estimated maximum: Yomiuri Shimbun

TOKYO (THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - It will soon be one year since new categories of residential status for foreign workers - the holders of "specified skills" - were introduced.

At the end of January, only about 3,100 foreigners had obtained such status under the system, far below the estimated maximum of 47,550 for the first year.

It is necessary to analyse the reasons for the low figure and implement remedial measures.

Japan is rapidly ageing due to its low birthrate. To make up for the decrease in the working population, it is inevitable to continue accepting foreign nationals with immediately applicable work skills.

Under the new system, foreigners have been allowed to engage in unskilled labour in 14 categories of industry, such as construction and nursing care.

Business corporations are required to pay them wages equal to those received by Japanese workers, while also providing support for their daily lives.

The main channel for acquiring the new status is for foreign nationals to pass Japanese-language and trade skills tests, or to switch over to the new status from their position as technical intern trainees.

At this point in time, the majority of foreigners who have acquired the new status have done so by changing their status. If they have undergone about three yeas of practical training, technical intern trainees can gain the new status without taking examinations.

It is of no small significance that it has been made possible for foreign workers who have acquired trade skills in Japan and gained practical experience to continue working here.

There are concerns about the continuing increase in the number of technical intern trainees. As of the end of last October, according to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, there were more than 380,000 technical intern trainees, up 70,000 from a year earlier.

This seems to show that there is high demand for foreign workers, while at the same time indicating that the new system is not properly functioning.

Technical intern training is primarily aimed at facilitating technology transfers to developing countries. As circumstances stand now, however, it is used as a means of securing cheap labour.

There has been a succession of cases involving the disappearance of intern trainees who owe brokers large debts.

It is desirable to shift the focus of foreign workers' acceptance to the employment of specified-skills status holders who are formally eligible to work in this country.

The government is supposed to reconsider the system two years after its start. This needs to be complemented by examining how technical intern trainees should be treated under the system.

It is critical to toughen the requirements they have to meet while also providing more rigorous guidance to companies that force them to work in illegal ways.

It is also important to improve how the new system is operated. The government intends to enable companies and others to complete necessary procedures online while also permitting applications to be made on the internet.

The envisaged online scheme can function to notify companies of any omissions in their procedures, thereby shortening the time necessary for such purposes as submitting their data again.

It is vital to reduce the burden shouldered by corporations in conducting clerical work.

Some companies have complained about the burden of expenses to be incurred through the acceptance of foreign workers.

They are said to feel burdened by the initial expenses, commission and other fees paid to registered institutions in charge of assistance for companies.

The Immigration Services Agency should guide these support institutions to promote the appropriate use of the system.

It is important for the government to cooperate with local governments in facilitating a framework for local communities to accept foreign workers, such as securing housing and improving consultation services for their daily lives.