As part of its new proposal to accept more foreign workers, the government plans to penalize companies that hire such workers through fraudulent brokers by barring them from hiring foreign staff for five years.
The government will submit a draft revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law to the current extraordinary Diet session, and hopes to expand hiring of foreign workers in various fields -- including unskilled positions -- from next April.
Since the technical intern training program was implemented in 1993, fraudulent brokers who introduce foreign workers to Japanese companies have emerged as a problem, as they offer predatory loans to foreign nationals under the guise of "guaranteed deposits" or sell them fake residence cards. Similar problems are feared with the new system.
To shore up the system, the government plans to penalize companies that rely on fraudulent brokers through a Justice Ministry ordinance to be implemented after the revised law's enactment.
The government is also considering the creation of a system to uncover illegal practices that target foreign workers. Through the system, the government plans to ask foreign workers who wish to work in Japan if they have paid security deposits or other fees to brokers when applying for resident status.
In the technical intern training program, about 70 percent of companies have had labor-related law violations reported.
The violations include involvement of fraudulent brokers, cases where workers suddenly stop reporting to work and cases where companies pay interns only 60,000 yen a month -- less than the minimum wage -- despite employing them full-time.
Companies that have committed such violations will not be allowed to accept foreign workers for the time being under the system to be introduced in April.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
