Tag - foreign-workers

 
 

FOREIGN WORKERS

Akihiko Tanaka (center) attends a meeting on the foreign technical trainee and skilled workers program at the Justice Ministry on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 30, 2023
Panel submits final report on Japan's foreign trainee program
After roughly a year of meetings, the cumulative report contains recommendations on a newly designed policy.
Akina Shu has visited around 50 countries as a speaker and ambassador on the digital nomad lifestyle since 2020.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2023
Japan is enticing for digital nomads, but visa hurdles remain
While the country does not offer a digital nomad visa, the government is working on introducing one sometime in 2024.
Technical trainees from Vietnam work at a knitwear factory in Mitsuke, Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2023
Japan's new foreign trainee program to enhance rights protection
Originally designed to transfer skills to developing countries, the program has long been criticized as a cover for firms to import inexpensive labor.
Yogendra Puranik, the first person from India to win elected office in Japan, at the Indian cultural center he manages in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2023
Japan needs Indian migrants. How can it attract them?
India can help fill the domestic labor gap, but for migrants to succeed, Japan must embrace a genuinely intercultural approach.
In some cases, it's up to individual foreign residents to understand the unique tax implications of their home countries and Japan in order to avoid a penny-pinching retirement.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / Age Wise
Nov 5, 2023
Retiring in Japan? Be prepared to foot your own bills.
“In an ideal world, everyone should have retirement planning on their radar as soon as possible when working life begins.”
A government expert panel meeting on foreign technical trainee and skilled workers Wednesday at the Justice Ministry
JAPAN / Society
Oct 18, 2023
Japan panel compiles new system for foreign technical interns
The report clearly states that the new system is aimed at “securing and developing human resources in fields facing labor shortages.”
Accepting foreign workers with expertise and skills "helps boost Japan's economy and society," Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi says.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 17, 2023
Justice minister counting on skilled foreign workers
Accepting foreign workers with expertise and skills "helps boost Japan's economy and society," Minister Ryuji Koizumi said.
As of the end of June, 3,223,858 foreigners resided in Japan, up 148,645 from the end of December 2022, the Immigration Services Agency announced Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 14, 2023
Number of foreign residents in Japan rises to record 3.2 million
As of the end of June, 3,223,858 foreigners resided in Japan, up 148,645 from the end of December 2022, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023
Japan to add driving to specified foreign worker skills
"We'll make various efforts to ensure that local residents and tourists have access to necessary means of transportation," minister Tetsuo Saito said.
Vietnamese staff work at a seafood processing firm in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2023
86% of municipalities across Japan want more foreign workers, survey says
The poll underscores the serious shortage of workers in farming and other key sectors as the country grapples with a declining population.
Delivery trucks at a parking area along the highway in Chiba Prefecture in April
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Japan set to expand visa framework to tackle driver shortage
The planned expansion of the visa framework is to attract foreign nationals to the logistics industries and to address the driver shortage problem.
Koichi Hagiuda (center), the policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visits a dispatching agency for foreign trainees in Hanoi and talks to students there last month.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2023
Illegal practices found at 7,247 firms employing foreign trainees
The most common violations involved breaches of safety rules, with the second most common being unpaid wages.
The population of Japanese nationals fell 801,000 in 2022 from a year earlier to 122,423,038, marking the largest drop since the survey began in 1968, government data showed Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2023
Number of Japanese drops in all 47 prefectures for first time as foreign population surges
As of Jan. 1, Japan's population, including foreign residents, stood at 125,416,877, down around 511,000 from a year earlier.
Foreign workers take notes during a meeting at a nursing care facility operator in Nagoya.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2023
Ministry panel starts talks to ease foreign care worker rules
The panel of experts will examine whether to allow foreign workers to engage in home-visit care services, currently not permitted partly due to concerns about language barriers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 14, 2023
Japan's business world welcomes foreign worker status expansion
It remains unclear whether the visa expansion will lead to an increase in foreign workers who plan stay in Japan for the long term.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 10, 2023
Japan faces headwinds in drawing foreign workers despite visa change
The country faces strong competition as an attractive workplace amid a weakening yen and rival Asian locations such as Taiwan and South Korea, which have fewer visa requirements.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2023
Japan's Cabinet OKs expansion of skilled worker visa eligibility
The No. 2 category, which brings much improved residency conditions, is set to be expanded to nine more industries by this fall.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2023
LDP approves plan to expand scope of skilled worker visa
Under the plan, the government will increase the number of sectors able to grant foreign workers a special status that effectively grants them permanent residency.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2023
Ministry panel outlines proposals for scrapping Japan's foreign intern program
The interim report says program participants should be allowed to switch jobs and eventually be able to move to a visa allowing an indefinite stay in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 27, 2023
Kishida's policies on children key to dealing with aging society
The government's estimates showed Japan's population continuing to decline, albeit at a slower pace thanks to a greater inflow of foreign nationals.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals