JAPAN

With new rules, Japan looks to wipe out abuse in trainee system — but critics say more must be done

Vietnamese vocational trainees, who wished to remain anonymous, call for greater support for their program at a gathering in Tokyo on Tuesday. | MAGDALENA OSUMI

By Magdalena Osumi
Staff Writer

Nov 1, 2017

Japan is ramping up efforts to lure foreign vocational trainees after tougher new laws went into effect Wednesday to eliminate abuse by employers amid criticism that some have misused the program as a way to obtain cheap labor.

A Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official overseeing the program said Wednesday that the revised regulations are aimed at stamping out and preventing violations of trainees' human rights by Japanese employers and overseas intermediary bodies.

A number of such violations emerged under the earlier system.

With new rules, Japan looks to wipe out abuse in trainee system — but critics say more must be done

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