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▼ Japan Needs More Than Just New Visa Options To Attract Highly Skilled Workers
- Category:Tourism
Japan is eager to attract more highly skilled foreign workers, with the government having announced new visa pathways earlier this month. But recruitment companies say the latest move is unlikely to make much of a difference for such foreign workers amid a competitive global job market.
The government has said it will introduce new rules that simplify the application process for “highly skilled professional” visas beginning in April. It will also grant an extended two-year period of stay to graduates from top foreign universities — mostly in Western countries — as they search for employment in Japan.
“The new system will lead to a reinvigoration of our economy as we accept more highly skilled workers contributing to innovation in academic research and the industrial economy,” Justice Minister Ken Saito said earlier this month. “It compares well with other countries.”
Nations such as Canada and Australia already have policies surrounding highly skilled workers that are very similar to Japan’s system. So when strong job candidates from overseas are weighing opportunities in Japan against those in English-speaking countries, which offer higher average incomes closer to those in their home countries, Japan could often come out on the losing side.
“Wages in Western countries are so high (compared with Japan) that (the latest announcement) won’t help attract workers,” said Yohei Shibasaki, CEO of Fourth Valley Concierge, a Tokyo-based human resources consultancy focused on foreign workers. “I doubt there will even be 10 people taking advantage of this pathway in a year.”
In Shibasaki’s opinion, Japan should focus more on how to attract foreign workers from Asian countries, especially in South and Southeast Asia, rather than the West.
As of the end of June 2022, there were just over 16,000 people that held Level 1 highly skilled professional visas in Japan, according to the Immigration Services Agency. As of December 2021, China and India were the largest source of high-skilled foreign workers, followed by South Korea, the U.S. and Taiwan.
But while China and South Korea are represented in the university rankings used by the Justice Ministry to judge top institutions — QS Top Universities, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities — the only other Asian countries listed in the rankings are Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, with just one to three schools depending on the website. No Indian schools are listed.
This signals that the government is failing to recognize where those wanting and willing to work in Japan are actually coming from, Shibasaki said.
While it would be a tall order for Japanese companies to increase their wages just for foreign workers, offering better incentives and motivation for foreign nationals to work in Japan may be the way to go.
Keiko Kobayashi, deputy general manager of global business services at major staffing agency Pasona Group, said that rather than focusing on relaxing visa requirements, Japan should overhaul its employment practices and working style.
Japanese firms still widely adhere to a “membership-based” employment system in which companies hire young employees with the intention of training them for needed jobs and providing lifetime employment.
That stands in contrast to the Western “job-based” system, under which employees are hired specifically for their skills.
This could make it both challenging to attract highly skilled foreign workers, and difficult for the workers themselves to actually find employment, Kobayashi said.
“We have to ask, ‘What are the merits?’ in order to begin thinking about drawing more people to work in Japan,” she said.
“For example, shifting to a system like in Taiwan, where there are tax benefits for these professionals, could be a solution, especially because the yen is so weak.”
However, Kobayashi pointed out that the extended period of stay for students could be a positive for foreign entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses in Japan.
Still, others agree that Japan needs to offer career and workplace incentives, rather than preferential visa categories, that would be attractive to foreign workers.
Japan has long had a global reputation for long work hours, a work-first mindset and workplace tradition and etiquette that is often difficult to comprehend for non-Japanese.
“It will also be necessary for employers to offer meaningful work roles to young, highly qualified foreign workers, who are probably more used to exercising leadership than are their counterparts in Japan of similar age,” said Richard Dasher, director of Stanford University’s U.S.-Asia Technology Management Center.
“Japan’s traditional attitudes toward seniority in the work group can seem rather stifling to a lot of young highly skilled people from abroad. Japan will have to look like an exciting place to work for them to want to go there.”
The government has said it will introduce new rules that simplify the application process for “highly skilled professional” visas beginning in April. It will also grant an extended two-year period of stay to graduates from top foreign universities — mostly in Western countries — as they search for employment in Japan.
“The new system will lead to a reinvigoration of our economy as we accept more highly skilled workers contributing to innovation in academic research and the industrial economy,” Justice Minister Ken Saito said earlier this month. “It compares well with other countries.”
Nations such as Canada and Australia already have policies surrounding highly skilled workers that are very similar to Japan’s system. So when strong job candidates from overseas are weighing opportunities in Japan against those in English-speaking countries, which offer higher average incomes closer to those in their home countries, Japan could often come out on the losing side.
“Wages in Western countries are so high (compared with Japan) that (the latest announcement) won’t help attract workers,” said Yohei Shibasaki, CEO of Fourth Valley Concierge, a Tokyo-based human resources consultancy focused on foreign workers. “I doubt there will even be 10 people taking advantage of this pathway in a year.”
In Shibasaki’s opinion, Japan should focus more on how to attract foreign workers from Asian countries, especially in South and Southeast Asia, rather than the West.
As of the end of June 2022, there were just over 16,000 people that held Level 1 highly skilled professional visas in Japan, according to the Immigration Services Agency. As of December 2021, China and India were the largest source of high-skilled foreign workers, followed by South Korea, the U.S. and Taiwan.
But while China and South Korea are represented in the university rankings used by the Justice Ministry to judge top institutions — QS Top Universities, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities — the only other Asian countries listed in the rankings are Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, with just one to three schools depending on the website. No Indian schools are listed.
This signals that the government is failing to recognize where those wanting and willing to work in Japan are actually coming from, Shibasaki said.
While it would be a tall order for Japanese companies to increase their wages just for foreign workers, offering better incentives and motivation for foreign nationals to work in Japan may be the way to go.
Keiko Kobayashi, deputy general manager of global business services at major staffing agency Pasona Group, said that rather than focusing on relaxing visa requirements, Japan should overhaul its employment practices and working style.
Japanese firms still widely adhere to a “membership-based” employment system in which companies hire young employees with the intention of training them for needed jobs and providing lifetime employment.
That stands in contrast to the Western “job-based” system, under which employees are hired specifically for their skills.
This could make it both challenging to attract highly skilled foreign workers, and difficult for the workers themselves to actually find employment, Kobayashi said.
“We have to ask, ‘What are the merits?’ in order to begin thinking about drawing more people to work in Japan,” she said.
“For example, shifting to a system like in Taiwan, where there are tax benefits for these professionals, could be a solution, especially because the yen is so weak.”
However, Kobayashi pointed out that the extended period of stay for students could be a positive for foreign entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses in Japan.
Still, others agree that Japan needs to offer career and workplace incentives, rather than preferential visa categories, that would be attractive to foreign workers.
Japan has long had a global reputation for long work hours, a work-first mindset and workplace tradition and etiquette that is often difficult to comprehend for non-Japanese.
“It will also be necessary for employers to offer meaningful work roles to young, highly qualified foreign workers, who are probably more used to exercising leadership than are their counterparts in Japan of similar age,” said Richard Dasher, director of Stanford University’s U.S.-Asia Technology Management Center.
“Japan’s traditional attitudes toward seniority in the work group can seem rather stifling to a lot of young highly skilled people from abroad. Japan will have to look like an exciting place to work for them to want to go there.”
- February 28, 2023
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