To maintain economic and social vitality, how should foreign workers be positioned? A strategy looking toward the future and careful preparations to expand the acceptance of foreign workers are needed. Thorough explanations are sought to expel public concerns over the issue.
The government adopted a bill to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law at a Cabinet meeting to create a new category of residence status for foreign nationals to work in Japan that will be limited to sectors beset with serious labor shortages. It aims to ensure the revised law will come into effect in April next year.
The eligibility of residence status for foreign workers has been limited to those with advanced and specialized skills, such as medical doctors. But the revised law will open a door to so-called unskilled labor by foreign workers. This will mark a significant policy shift.
The number of foreigners working in Japan has been rapidly increasing to 1.28 million. The working-age population is expected to decline further in the future. The expansion of the acceptance of foreign workers can be deemed an inevitable choice.
It is important to clearly specify the purpose of the new system and the future blueprint.
The new residence status comprises of category 1 and category 2, both of which require certain skills. The category 1 workers are required to have knowledge in their field of work and Japanese ability to a certain extent, and will be allowed to stay in Japan for up to five years.
To obtain the category 2 status, it is necessary to pass a test that requires higher skills than those of category 1. The category 2 workers will be able to have family members accompany them and will effectively be allowed to reside permanently in Japan on the condition they will undergo periodical screening.
The current situation should not be left as it is in which unskilled labor depends on foreign students, whose duty is to study, and technical interns under a government program for the main purpose of providing technical assistance to developing countries.
Controls must be in place
Under the new system, technical interns who have gained experience for three years or more will be able to obtain the category 1 status without taking a test. The government should give an easy-to-understand explanation on how to balance the new system with the technical intern training program.
Fourteen business fields, including agriculture, construction and nursing care, are being considered under the new system, and the number could increase further.
There is a lingering concern over whether the number of foreign workers accepted would increase uncontrolled. The government should present as soon as possible the envisioned numbers by type of business field and the entire scale of foreign workers to be accepted in Japan.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says emphatically that foreign nationals who can immediately handle the necessary work will be accepted for a limited period of time. The bill to revise the law included an end to such acceptance of foreign workers when labor shortages are resolved.
Is it only through such measures that it is possible to say the new system is different from a policy to accept immigrants? Thorough debate is indispensable.
The bill to revise the law obliges companies to make efforts to put foreign workers in equal working conditions to those of Japanese workers in terms of salaries and welfare, among other conditions. Companies will provide assistance to foreign workers, such as securing housing and counseling when changing jobs.
Comprehensive support measures should be taken so that foreign workers will be able to adapt themselves to Japanese society.
The government intends to create an agency to control immigration and residency as an external organ of the Justice Ministry. It is important to organize appropriate arrangements such as by supervising foreign residents and giving guidance to companies accepting foreign workers.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 3, 2018)
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