It is important to resolve one by one issues that will likely arise under a new system to increase the number of foreign workers in Japan. The central government must understand the demands of local governments and proactively work on measures to realize them.
According to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun questionnaire that asked the governors and mayors of local governments across the nation for their opinions of the new system, about half of the respondents approved of it, while only a fraction of local governments had unfavorable opinions. The survey results served to add weight to a certain expectation held by regional governments facing severe labor shortages. The introduction of a new system that widens the door to foreigners meets the needs of the times.
The government has created a new residence status for foreign nationals with specific skills in 14 industries, including nursing-care services and construction work. About 340,000 foreigners are estimated to be accepted under the status over a five-year period. The local governments of the communities that will host them must play major roles.
Many local governments are deeply concerned that systems to accept foreign workers, including basic infrastructure, are not ready in their communities. Some have voiced concerns that the new system may bring about problems with local residents and result in a deterioration of public safety.
To alleviate anxieties among local communities and avoid confusion, it is necessary for local governments to properly address various issues related to everyday life and social systems.
In some communities where a number of foreign nationals already reside, there have been cases in which interpreting services for 119 emergency calls and garbage bags with instructions written in English and Chinese have been introduced. It will be effective for more local governments to share such progressive approaches.
Address concerns
In the questionnaire, about 70 percent of respondents indicated that they want the central government to secure financial resources to work on measures to receive foreign residents. A number of local governments also sought support for their work setting up consultation services and called for the government to provide multilingual information about the social security system.
The central government plans to deploy liaison officials to regional bureaus of the new immigration and residence control agency that will be launched in April. In addition to financially supporting local governments, it should also assist them in developing human resources and improving their work.
There are strong fears that foreign workers may move to large metropolitan areas in pursuit of higher wages, leaving regional labor shortages unresolved. Efforts must be accelerated to come up with such measures as securing satisfactory living environments for foreign nationals to prevent them from flowing into urban areas.
Ahead of the new system's start, the central government has approved at a Cabinet meeting a bill to revise the Health Insurance Law to limit coverage under the public health insurance system to family dependents who reside in Japan.
Under the current law, there have been some problematic cases in which foreign nationals working in Japan brought dependent family members from their home countries for treatment so they could benefit from Japan's advanced medical services.
Such a practice could distort the purpose of the insurance system and lead to a sense of unfairness among the general public. It is reasonable that the government is to prevent people from inappropriately receiving benefits through legislative revision.
To help stabilize the livelihoods of arrivals, the new system makes it mandatory for foreign workers to take out coverage through such social security systems as the public health insurance system and pension schemes. It is hoped that companies accepting them will be thoroughly instructed to implement the system.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 17, 2019)
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