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▼ Japan Approves Measures To Help Make Life Easier For Foreign Workers
- Category:Event
TOKYO - Japan approved Tuesday a set of measures to ensure that foreign workers entering the country under its new visa system enjoy proper working conditions and access to broad support in their daily lives.
The government came up with a 126-point policy package aimed at facilitating the daily lives of foreigners who may not be used to Japanese culture and customs, earmarking 22.4 billion yen through the current and next fiscal year starting April.
The programs include a plan to set up around 100 consultation service centers across Japan that will provide information and advice on a range of issues such as on employment, medical services, child-raising and education.
The so-called one-stop consultation centers will offer services in 11 languages, including English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
The endorsement of the government's basic policy on the new visa system and the support package came as Japan prepares for the entry of more foreign workers from April to tackle serious labor shortages in the country.
Under the basic policy, the government pledges to offer "proper" working conditions for foreign workers in terms of pay, working hours and safety.
Amid some criticism that the government is moving too quickly and has not sufficiently prepared for an influx of foreign workers, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed at a meeting attended by cabinet ministers that the assistance programs be implemented properly.
"I'd like you to make utmost efforts for the system to operate in a way that will make foreign people want to work and live (in Japan)," Abe said.
Those applying for the new visas are mainly expected from nine Asian countries -- Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam -- and they will be able to work in 14 industrial sectors, including construction, the restaurant business, farming and nursing care.
The government aims to work with the nine Asian countries to shut out unscrupulous brokers from collecting fees from foreign workers on the pretext of assisting them to come to Japan and find jobs.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press conference that Tokyo plans to reach bilateral agreements with the Asian countries to that end.
Calls have been growing to tackle the activities of such brokers, seen as one of the possible reasons why some foreigners already working in Japan under the so-called technical internship program are saddled with debts and end up being exploited.
With Japan expecting up to 345,150 foreigners to acquire the new residency statuses in the first five years, the government said it will take steps to avoid having foreign workers settle "excessively" in large city areas, where wages are typically higher compared with regional cities.
Suga, the top government spokesman, said the Justice Ministry will regularly make public the number of foreign workers by sector and region once the new scheme begins.
In industry-specific guidelines approved the same day, the government stipulated the estimated number of workers to be accepted in each of the 14 sectors over the five-year period, such as 60,000 in the nursing assistant sector and 53,000 in the restaurant business.
The figures will be used as a ceiling and will not be altered unless there is a major change in the economic situation, according to the government.
Under the 126-point package, Japan will also enhance multilingual services at hospitals and other existing public facilities, such as job-placement offices, as well as making emergency advisories about natural disasters from the government's warning system available in different languages.
Foreign workers will be encouraged to enroll in Japan's public health insurance programs, which cover a portion of medical expenses, but the government noted that it will also take steps to prevent abuse of the programs.
The new visa system allows foreign workers aged 18 or older to apply for two new resident statuses -- the "No. 1" type for people who will engage in work that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience, and the "No. 2" type for work that requires higher skill levels.
Those with status No. 1, which is valid for up to five years, will not be allowed to bring family members to Japan. But the entrants granted No. 2 status will be allowed to do so and there will be no limit on the number of times they can renew their visa.
Foreign workers seeking to apply for the No. 1 visa will be required to have an understanding of basic Japanese conversation and a language test is to be created for eligible applicants to take.
By creating the new visa statuses, Japan will formally open its doors to foreign blue-collar workers for the first time. In the past, the country has granted working visas only to people with professional knowledge and high skills such as doctors, lawyers and teachers.
Workers will be allowed to switch jobs if certain conditions are met. They will be employed basically on a full-time and direct basis, but the farming and fishery sectors that are influenced by seasonal factors can employ foreign workers on a temporary basis.
© KYODO
The government came up with a 126-point policy package aimed at facilitating the daily lives of foreigners who may not be used to Japanese culture and customs, earmarking 22.4 billion yen through the current and next fiscal year starting April.
The programs include a plan to set up around 100 consultation service centers across Japan that will provide information and advice on a range of issues such as on employment, medical services, child-raising and education.
The so-called one-stop consultation centers will offer services in 11 languages, including English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
The endorsement of the government's basic policy on the new visa system and the support package came as Japan prepares for the entry of more foreign workers from April to tackle serious labor shortages in the country.
Under the basic policy, the government pledges to offer "proper" working conditions for foreign workers in terms of pay, working hours and safety.
Amid some criticism that the government is moving too quickly and has not sufficiently prepared for an influx of foreign workers, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed at a meeting attended by cabinet ministers that the assistance programs be implemented properly.
"I'd like you to make utmost efforts for the system to operate in a way that will make foreign people want to work and live (in Japan)," Abe said.
Those applying for the new visas are mainly expected from nine Asian countries -- Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam -- and they will be able to work in 14 industrial sectors, including construction, the restaurant business, farming and nursing care.
The government aims to work with the nine Asian countries to shut out unscrupulous brokers from collecting fees from foreign workers on the pretext of assisting them to come to Japan and find jobs.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press conference that Tokyo plans to reach bilateral agreements with the Asian countries to that end.
Calls have been growing to tackle the activities of such brokers, seen as one of the possible reasons why some foreigners already working in Japan under the so-called technical internship program are saddled with debts and end up being exploited.
With Japan expecting up to 345,150 foreigners to acquire the new residency statuses in the first five years, the government said it will take steps to avoid having foreign workers settle "excessively" in large city areas, where wages are typically higher compared with regional cities.
Suga, the top government spokesman, said the Justice Ministry will regularly make public the number of foreign workers by sector and region once the new scheme begins.
In industry-specific guidelines approved the same day, the government stipulated the estimated number of workers to be accepted in each of the 14 sectors over the five-year period, such as 60,000 in the nursing assistant sector and 53,000 in the restaurant business.
The figures will be used as a ceiling and will not be altered unless there is a major change in the economic situation, according to the government.
Under the 126-point package, Japan will also enhance multilingual services at hospitals and other existing public facilities, such as job-placement offices, as well as making emergency advisories about natural disasters from the government's warning system available in different languages.
Foreign workers will be encouraged to enroll in Japan's public health insurance programs, which cover a portion of medical expenses, but the government noted that it will also take steps to prevent abuse of the programs.
The new visa system allows foreign workers aged 18 or older to apply for two new resident statuses -- the "No. 1" type for people who will engage in work that requires a certain level of knowledge and experience, and the "No. 2" type for work that requires higher skill levels.
Those with status No. 1, which is valid for up to five years, will not be allowed to bring family members to Japan. But the entrants granted No. 2 status will be allowed to do so and there will be no limit on the number of times they can renew their visa.
Foreign workers seeking to apply for the No. 1 visa will be required to have an understanding of basic Japanese conversation and a language test is to be created for eligible applicants to take.
By creating the new visa statuses, Japan will formally open its doors to foreign blue-collar workers for the first time. In the past, the country has granted working visas only to people with professional knowledge and high skills such as doctors, lawyers and teachers.
Workers will be allowed to switch jobs if certain conditions are met. They will be employed basically on a full-time and direct basis, but the farming and fishery sectors that are influenced by seasonal factors can employ foreign workers on a temporary basis.
© KYODO
- December 25, 2018
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