Japan Opens Its Doors to Foreign Workers
Japan’s recent passing of the legislation to allow thousands of more foreign workers into the country surprised many. The concepts of racial purity and monoculture have been an important part of Japanese society for centuries. In fact, Japan had isolated itself from foreign influence for over two hundred years in the past, until its isolation finally came to an end in 1853. Even though they started modernizing and accepting Western cultures rapidly in the 19th century, there still are existing remnants of the past. Today, Japan is still known for having one of the most homogeneous ethnicities in the world.
Then, what led the Japanese government to pass such a legislation if it prides its pure-blood society so much? The legislation was surely contentious. However, Japan’s aging population and shortage of labor force made this change inevitable.
According to the Japanese Health Ministry’s projection of its population decline, its total population will decrease by more than 40 million by 2060. Population decline is not the only problem. Japan is also considered a “super-aged nation” and more than 20 percent of the population is over 65 years old, and it’s seeing its lowest birth rate every year.
Despite the voices in favor of immigration, the Japanese government has tried to solve this problem by encouraging more senior citizens and women to take part in the workforce instead of welcoming more foreign workers into the country. On special basis, Japan provided immigration status to a small number of foreigners who have high skills and qualifications, but they shunned opening doors to low-skilled foreign workers.
One way of the Japanese government to utilize labor from foreign workers without granting them an actual visa was to establish the “technical trainee” program, where foreigners, mainly from Southeast Asia, come to Japan to acquire the specific skills needed in agriculture and manufacturing industries. This program might seem like a win-win since the workers can bring back useful skills and knowledge to their respective countries while Japan can temporarily ease their problems of shortages in the workforce. Experts, however, asserted that this training program is just a “guise for using cheap labor” and that it led to some serious mistreatment and exploitation.
While this new legislation, which is said to allow up to 345,150 blue-collar workers to Japan in over five years, will create more jobs and space for foreign workers in Japan and alleviate the economic and social problems Japan has been experiencing, the question will still remain as to whether this enactment will improve the working conditions for foreigners and reduce hostility towards them.
Edited by Urvi Agrawal.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/01/asia/japan-migrants-immigration/index.html
