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July 16, 2024
 

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WORKERS

Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture. Japan is set to sharply increase the number of foreign nationals it accepts under its skilled worker visa, with plans to receive up to 800,000 people in the next five years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024
Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers
The government is said to be considering adding the road transportation, railway, forestry and timber sectors to those eligible for the visa.
A new future initiative aimed at training foreign workers is part of a broader strategy to address pressing labor shortages in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2024
Japan eyes training foreign workers amid labor shortages
The proposed training system will supersede the current foreign technical internship system.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 3, 2024
South Korea needs foreign workers, but often fails to protect them
Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
Prospective foreign vocational school graduates who finish education ministry-accredited academic courses will be granted “technology, humanities and international affairs” residence status intended for white-collar workers such as engineers, interpreters and designers, even if their jobs don’t necessarily relate to what they have studied.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2024
Japan eases residency rules for foreign graduates of vocational schools
The relaxation of rules is aimed at retaining highly skilled professionals amid a chronic labor shortage.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in 2018
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2024
Japan considers revoking permanent resident status of tax dodgers
Immigration authorities are considering revoking the residency status of foreign permanent residents who evade or repeatedly delay paying their taxes.
Firefighters remove rubble from the former site of a market in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 6, after a fire broke out following a strong earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas on Jan. 1.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Foreign firefighters stifled by Japanese bureaucracy
Ambiguous rules have left some firefighters confused about how their much-needed abilities can be utilized.
Facing severe shortages of drivers, Japan will offer tests for driver's licenses for taxis and buses in foreign languages to attract more foreign nationals to the sector.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
Japan taxi and bus driver's license tests to go multilingual
The National Police Agency will issue sample exam questions nationwide in 20 languages by the end of March.
Foreign tourists in the city of Tottori in November
JAPAN / Society
Feb 10, 2024
Most Japanese outside major urban areas say they do not engage with foreign nationals
Of the people who gave valid responses, 83.8% said they do not have regular exchanges with the foreign nationals who live alongside them.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discusses a new foreign worker system, in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 9, 2024
Japan to end technical intern program and allow transfers to new jobs
A planned new system will focus on securing and developing essential workers from abroad to tackle the country's current labor shortage.
Opening up to foreign workers may ultimately be Japan’s best hope for stemming a rapid population decline.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024
Record 2 million foreign workers are changing the face of Japan
Opening up to job seekers from abroad may ultimately be the country's best hope of stemming a rapid population decline.
A team of volunteers from the Non-Resident Nepali Association in Japan serves curry to evacuees in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 13.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 6, 2024
Support helps lift spirits of foreign residents in quake-hit areas
Ishikawa Prefecture is home to around 16,500 foreign residents, and multilingual hotlines were set up shortly after the quake to provide vital information.
There are currently over 35 million digital nomads around the world, with a collective economic value of $787 billion.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 2, 2024
Japan's digital nomad visas to require ¥10 million in income
People from 49 countries and territories will be able to stay in Japan under the “specified activities” visa category.
Rescue workers look for missing people in collapsed houses in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the surrounding areas on Jan. 1.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024
No one left behind: Japan needs to work on its multicultural disaster response
The Noto earthquake has put into relief, once again, the need to cater disaster responses and preparedness to everyone, including foreigners.
Subash Rijal (center) meets with colleagues in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, in September.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2024
Municipalities turn to Asian IT talent to beat big-city rivals
Almost 90% of domestic companies surveyed said they are struggling to hire the people they need.
Vietnamese people take Japanese lessons in Hanoi in June 2023 before heading to Japan to work.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2024
Number of foreign workers in Japan surpasses 2 million for first time
Tokyo has the largest population of foreign workers, followed by Aichi and Osaka prefectures.
A minibus that crashed into a telephone pole in Kasuya, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024
20 people injured in southwest Japan bus crash
The 13 women and seven men were taken to a hospital following the accident at around 6:30 a.m. They were all conscious and did not have life-threatening injuries.
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers, drawing on his experience working in Vietnam, where he once helped introduce Japanese know-how in running transportation services.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024
Tokyo bus operator banks on foreign drivers as shortage looms
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers.
Indian migrant women in Tokyo often face stifling social expectations. In contrast, they may feel empowered in more egalitarian societies like Berlin.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2024
How patriarchy perpetuates among Tokyo’s Indian migrants
Indian migrant women in Tokyo struggle to break free from the patriarchal structures they experienced back home. But in Berlin, a different picture emerges.
A Brazilian of Japanese descent teaches Japanese to foreign nationals in July 2020 at the Homi housing complex in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, which is home to many foreign nationals, mainly of Brazilian heritage.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023
Some foreign fourth generation descendants of Japanese to be given long-term residency
The Immigration Services Agency will revise the residency status system to allow such people to effectively stay in Japan indefinitely.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

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