Photo/Illutration Vietnamese workers at Uedagumi, a construction company in Shibetsu, eastern Hokkaido, on Oct. 17 (Toshiki Horigome)

The process of designing a new program that allows Japanese companies to hire foreign workers while ensuring the safety and comfort of these workers in Japan is in the final stage.

This week, a draft of the final report on proposals related to the reform was presented to a government expert panel that intends to abolish the technical intern training program and put a new visa program in its place.

The intern program has long been criticized as a hotbed for labor exploitation and human rights violations of foreign workers.

The government is seeking to revise the law next year to introduce the new program.

Under the proposed new system, foreign workers will be granted visa status that, in principle, allows them to work in the same industry for up to three years. Those who wish to stay longer can transition to Type 1 specified skilled worker status, which enables them to work for up to five more years.

Beyond that, they can shift to Type 2 status, which requires higher levels of skills and expertise but allows them to work indefinitely and bring their families to Japan.

The proposal points the way to a better system as it offers unskilled workers entering Japan a clear mid- to long-term career path and a visible route to potential permanent residency.

An attractive residency program will benefit not only foreign workers but also the many desperate workplaces in Japan that are grappling with labor shortages.

However, many issues require further deliberation.

The primary reason for chronic problems in the technical intern training program, such as long working hours, “power harassment” by people in superior positions and the disappearance of trainees, is the ban, in principle, on switching jobs.

The new system will allow trainees to change jobs after a year of employment if they want.

Yet some significant challenges will remain for prospective foreign workers who might be unable to obtain information in advance about the working conditions or community environment related to their employment in Japan.

It is necessary to consider adjusting the proposal to allow job changes more flexibly in response to the circumstances.

It is also vital to establish rules to ensure fairness between companies that employ foreign workers.

For example, companies that hire foreign workers who leave their original workplaces should share the costs involved in the workers’ entry into Japan.

Another long-standing issue concerns the heavy debts saddling many trainees when they come to Japan. They are said to have paid huge fees to dubious brokers in their countries and cannot return home.

It is not easy to exclude unscrupulous foreign institutions that send workers to Japan because these operators are not subject to Japanese regulations.

But the government should hold in-depth discussions with relevant foreign countries to root out this deep-seated problem.

One notable idea in the draft proposal would require foreign workers to pass increasingly difficult Japanese language exams for switching workplaces or transitioning from Type 1 specified skilled worker status to Type 2.

While language skills undoubtedly help foreign workers in their daily lives, there is no effective system to help them improve their Japanese language proficiency while working. It is urgent to create such a system.

As of the end of June, only 12 foreign workers had secured Type 2 specified skilled worker status.

However, the number of industries eligible for this program increased from just two to 11, including food and beverage production and agriculture, at the end of August. More foreign trainees will likely consider this path in the coming months.

The goal of this policy initiative should be building a society where many foreign workers choose to stay and continue working.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 20

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