Utilizing foreign workers is a viable option for addressing the worsening labor shortage. It is necessary to consider from multiple points of view how foreign workers should be appropriately accepted.
The government has adopted a policy of newly defining the residential status to be gained by foreign nationals who hope to work in this country.
The move will cover five sectors in which the labor shortage is conspicuous -- agriculture, nursing care, construction, hospitality and shipbuilding. The government will seek to introduce the new system in April next year.
Under the current system, only foreign nationals who are highly skilled professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, can stay in Japan for the purpose of working in this nation. The new policy is aimed at relaxing this regulation, thereby enabling foreigners to find work here if they have a certain level of expertise.
The course of action set by the plan -- a scheme for expanding the scope of foreign workers to be accepted in this country, thereby preventing a decline in the economic and social vitality that accompanies the low birthrate and aging population -- is understandable.
The new system will grant up-to-five-year work permits to those who hope to work in Japan after completing technical intern training programs and who have passed exams designed to test their knowledge, skills and Japanese-language proficiency. The system will require them to engage in work that needs a certain measure of expertise, with unskilled labor not permitted in this respect.
As circumstances stand now, however, many foreign students working part-time in addition to their studies in Japan, as well as technical trainees, are recruited to engage in unskilled labor.
Of the 1.27 million foreign workers here, those with part-time jobs, including students from overseas, account for 23 percent of the total, and technical trainees account for 20 percent.
Monitor program carefully
The government should closely monitor the system, so it will not be rendered toothless to just function as a vehicle for accepting unskilled workers.
The new system needs to be monitored to determine whether foreign workers who have been hastily granted the newly defined residential status will be able to handle nursing care and other work requiring high communication abilities and skills.
It is also important to clarify which government organ will be tasked with playing the leading role in devising medium- and long-term strategies for accepting foreign workers.
There seems to be no end to the number of problems involving foreign workers.
Seventy percent of business places in which technical trainees work were found to have violated the Labor Standards Law and committed other irregularities, according to on-site inspections conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in 2016. A total of 7,089 trainees fled from their workplaces in 2017, a significant 40 percent increase from the previous year.
Foreign nationals may be regarded merely as cheap labor in some respects. It is indispensable to treat them appropriately in rewarding their work. In newly defining the residential status, it is important to take drastic measures to handle issues related to foreign workers.
Another task is how to live together with an increasing number of foreign nationals. The public and private sectors should join hands in helping foreign workers to better understand the Japanese way of life and culture.
The government stands by its principle of not adopting policies that promote immigration. Turmoil has arisen among European nations, as shown by divisions in society there. In light of these circumstances, there is every reason to adopt a cautious approach toward the matter in this country.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 18, 2018)
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
