As it is a new system designed to increase job opportunities for foreigners, the impact on our society will not be small. To dispel unease among the public, the government needs to expedite its efforts to develop related frameworks.
Regarding the expanded acceptance of foreigners into the workforce starting next April, the government adopted at a Cabinet meeting a basic policy and an operational policy, the latter of which is to be applied by each sector accepting foreign workers.
These define detailed operational rules, based on the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law enacted during the extraordinary session of the Diet.
Through the creation of new types of residence status for holders of "designated skills," foreigners will be allowed to work in specific industries saddled with serious labor shortages, namely 14 sectors including nursing care services and construction. While taking heed to not invite a decline in the employment of Japanese workers, the new system will be called on to supplement the nation's workforce.
The basic policy stipulates a principle of companies employing these foreign workers directly. As an exception to this principle, businesses in agriculture and fisheries, whose workload fluctuates seasonally, may also accept workers dispatched from temporary staffing agencies. Companies that accept foreign workers are obliged to pay wages equal to those of Japanese workers, have them covered by social insurance, and also shoulder the burden of assisting their daily lives.
It is appropriate for the obligations of companies accepting these foreign workers to have been clarified. The government needs to keep watch over these companies and provide them with guidance.
People from nine countries are presumed to be accepted for the time being, including Vietnam, the Philippines and China. It is important to take measures to block any involvement of unscrupulous brokers in this endeavor.
Battle unscrupulous brokers
The government intends to form agreements with these countries and to call on them to examine regarding unscrupulous brokers and exercise control over them.
Under the technical intern training programs, there has been a succession of cases in which foreign trainees were saddled with heavy debts by brokers and ran away. The government must strive to apply these measures strictly so as not to repeat the same mistake.
A cause for concern under the new system is the potential concentration of foreign workers in large cities where wages are relatively high, leaving labor shortages in rural areas unsolved.
The government intends to release the number of accepted foreign workers by prefecture every three months, in an attempt to help correct uneven distribution of foreign workers among regions. How can each region secure these workers by fully utilizing their regional characteristics, including livability? The central and local governments should cooperate in working out effective measures.
At a separate meeting of related Cabinet ministers, a comprehensive package of measures aimed at helping foreigners adapt to Japanese society was approved.
Windows for social support services will be established at 100 locations across the country, providing information on procedures for residence status, medical care and social welfare services.
Most important is to prevent foreign workers from becoming isolated in society through improved lifestyle support, while preventing discord from emerging at their workplaces and in local communities. Such efforts as improving the quality of Japanese language education institutions are also essential.
There are many points at issue that were not given enough discussion during the Diet deliberation of the bill. It is important that both the ruling and opposition parties discuss such issues actively at the Diet, including through deliberations while the Diet is out of session. Such endeavors would also help expand the public's understanding of the new system.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 27, 2018)
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
