August 18, 2018

The government led by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has decided on a policy to accept more foreign workers as a way to solve Japan’s labor shortage problem. However, it is unacceptable for the government to allow the new policy to open a path for the use of foreign workers as cheap, disposable labor.

The government explains that the new proposal has nothing to do with the current immigration policy. This implies that the government intends to accept non-Japanese workers just to make up for labor shortages, but not enable them to stay as immigrants.

The Abe government plans to introduce the new policy on foreign workers in the fields of agriculture, nursing-care, construction, accommodation, and shipbuilding. These five sectors are struggling to attract workers. The government seeks to implement the new measure in 2019 and accept more than 500,000 foreign workers by 2025.

Past related articles:
> Labor ministry panel opens door for use of foreign trainees as cheap labor in nursing-care industry [January 28, 2015]
> Use of foreign workers as cheap labor is unacceptable [August 26, 2014]