Japan to expand skilled worker visa system to address labor shortage

It there is a serious labor shortage, then wages should have risen sharply a long time ago. The government would be better off removing the structural barriers that allow employers -- raking in record-high profits -- to pay lower and lower real wages amid a supposedly severe labor shortage.

Bringing in large numbers of workers from developing countries will suppress wages, undermining the government's economic strategy.

The problem is, Japan has a negative image in terms of how international staff are treated.

Would be interested to know what those 11 industries are.

As of the end of March, the number of foreigners in Japan on the No. 1 visa totaled around 150,000 and No. 2 only 11, 

Only 11! Guess nobody likes the Japanese language fluency examination.

My friend’s non Japanese wife speaks fluent Japanese but she couldn’t pass the Nursing written test. The kanji was just too much.

I guess the people responsible for the disaster of the No.2 visa had no other option but to accept that making something so complicated and difficult to obtain that only 11 people could take advantage of it was a complete failure.

My friend’s non Japanese wife speaks fluent Japanese but she couldn’t pass the Nursing written test. The kanji was just too much.

This. More immigration policy designed to keep the status quo. Looks good on paper though. Clever.

My friend’s non Japanese wife speaks fluent Japanese but she couldn’t pass the Nursing written test. The kanji was just too much.

To be fair, I wouldn’t want a nurse caring for me who might give me the wrong treatment due to her not being able to read properly.

My friend’s non Japanese wife speaks fluent Japanese but she couldn’t pass the Nursing written test. The kanji was just too much.

When it comes to being a nurse, I pray to god that they never lower the standards for the language proficiency requirements. I sure as hell would not want a nurse, who couldnt read the instructions from a doctor about what or which medications to give a patient, and die because of language mistake.

Nurses are a skilled position, and language skills SHOULD be maintained.

This. More immigration policy designed to keep the status quo. Looks good on paper though. Clever.

THIS! People here thinking it's OK for those in the medical field to get a pass because the language test was too hard. Wrong, this isnt a blue collar industrial position, it's dealing with people's lives.

You want to be a nurse, pass the exams.

I personally know 2 doctors, one a dentist, the other an MD, both from "foreign" countries, whose licenses are not recognized in Japan. Neither could pass the medical license exams to become licensed doctors here, and now work in other fields. Neither complain, as they both know, this isnt their country but Japan, and Japanese language skills are required for their professions.

Bringing in large numbers of workers from developing countries will suppress wages, undermining the government's economic strategy.

The LDP's economic strategy is to keep the working masses suppressed while the people at the top reap the rewards. My guess is that's why they're bringing people from abroad. But even if they got rid of slave wages and paid people properly, there are simply not enough people to fill in all the positions. Labor shortage here is severe and pronounced.

The problem is, Japan has a negative image in terms of how international staff are treated.

Exactly. Even under Abe, when they relaxed the Visa requirements and expected a flood of people to apply, only a handful did. The gov was perplexed thinking that EVERYONE would want to come here and very few did. That's why I predict that this revision to the guidelines will do nothing. PR is not immigration, and even PR residents here don't have the same rights as in other countries.

there is a shortage because the wages and working environment is not good. I’m British and was a carpenter here in Tokyo for 10 years. Working 6 days a week with no benefits and low pay is the reason they can’t find labor workers

"The problem is, Japan has a negative image in terms of how international staff are treated."

Just as they are in every other nation...

in other words.no salaries up.

greedy employers can exploit more cheap end foreign labor force.in other words-modern days slavery can continue-legally.

do you call this a "good news"?

"PR is not immigration, and even PR residents here don't have the same rights as in other countries."

The only rights they don't have is the right to hold public office and the right to vote. They do have the right to become citizens to get those rights, however...

As of the end of March, the number of foreigners in Japan on the No. 1 visa totaled around 150,000 and No. 2 only 11, according to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

What this article didn't mention is overall target is 345,000 people by 2024, so it's reach only less than half of that target.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/11/14/national/politics-diplomacy/345000-foreign-workers-predicted-come-japan-new-visas-government/

Even a significant number of Japanese HS graduates do not possess a high enough standard of reading and writing kanji to work in the medical industry. The standards must be maintained - even as robots take over many medical positions. Japanese people insist on 100% fluency and 0% error.

Seems like a great opportunity for Japanese language schools to open up in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, The Philippines etc to get potential candidates up to standard.

... a path to permanent residency ...

A path to a PR underclass more like. Until Japan allows for dual citizenship, there won't be many people who will want to build their life here.

The only rights they don't have is the right to hold public office and the right to vote. They do have the right to become citizens to get those rights, however...

No they don't have the right NOT to be deported. As a PR, you can be deported for anything if they so choose.

You're confusing PR with SPR

A path to a PR underclass more like. Until Japan allows for dual citizenship, there won't be many people who will want to build their life here.

exactly.

The only rights they don't have is the right to hold public office and the right to vote. They do have the right to become citizens to get those rights, however...

AND on top of that, you don't have the right to sue for discriminatory behavior because under Japanese law it is not illegal to discriminate against foreigners.

Tough to attract talent with high taxes, weak Yen, collapsing demographics and less globally competitive companies, based on market capitalization rankings.

Forgetting cultural * language challenges, for talent looking for career stepping-stones, Japan leads where?

"Until Japan allows for dual citizenship, there won't be many people who will want to build their life here."

Why would anyone need dual citizenship if their plan was to "build their life here"?

Tough to attract talent with high taxes, weak Yen, collapsing demographics and less globally competitive companies, based on market capitalization rankings.

Forgetting cultural * language challenges, for talent looking for career stepping-stones, Japan leads where?

very true

Here is a concept raise minimum wages and so this permits people to even think about the concept of marriage and a family in the same breath. Just an idea.

It’s a win win solution for the workers and labor shortages. Let’s accelerate this trend. We can learn from diversity too.

What labour shortage are they talking about? I see so many foreign workers everywhere. Hotel, Ryokan, restaurant. Mostly Filipino and Vietnamese.

If you are proficient enough to pass these language and skills tests, you’re not going into unskilled manual labor with super low salaries and dangerous working conditions. These types of programs simply haven’t been thought out at all, which is why they are abject failures.

@ Inaka Life

The headline of the article: "Japan to expand SKILLED worker visa system"

As a foreigner I’ve had to endure discrimination from establishments that I have even introduced Japanese to.

The discrimination was based solely on how I look not on my lack of Japanese ability

It doesn’t worry me in the slightest but it does make me apprehensive for the future of Japan as there is no way society here can continue adequately without accepting foreigners in a fair and balanced manner

"There is no way society here can continue adequately without accepting foreigners in a fair and balanced manner"

An arrogant "Western" perspective that assumes Japan couldn't possibly thrive without a foreign population to help it do so.

Considering most forecasts predict that AI and mass-automation will have made 50% of current jobs obsolete within the next 25 years, an influx of immigration would most likely lead to an increase in unemployment, which the public coffers couldn't "adequately" fund

Foreigners should re think what it means to have a PR visa. It’s a joke, I have lived here for over 20 years without one. You do not need a PR visa to stay in Japan. Just renew the visa you have. Why is this so scary for people?

The number 2 visa is hard and more restrictive to get as it also allows family members to come and set up definitively here.

It is a migrant visa

Why would anyone need dual citizenship if their plan was to "build their life here"?

This is a fair and valid question, and it seems to me too many people just dont understand it. If someone wants to build their life HERE in Japan, then there is really no need for dual citizenship, unless they just want it as an escape clause, "just in case". But then that takes away from the "build their life here" so which is it?

There are valid reasons for wanting dual citizenship, particularly if one has children, and it gives them ever more opportunities than someone who is not a citizen has.

IMHO dual citizenship isnt a "need" but a valid want.

Better not to come working here. The working condition is not so great comparing to the pay. Don't believe in hiring for life propaganda. It is reserved only for Japanese national.