May 11, 2024

Japanese Communist Party representative Miyamoto Toru on May 10 argued that it will be unjustifiable for Japan to unduly restrict job transfers of foreign technical intern trainees, as the restriction could be an abuse of human rights and the right of freedom to choose jobs.

Miyamoto said this at a joint meeting of the House of Representatives Committees on Judicial Affairs and on Health, Labor, and Welfare where amendments to the Technical Intern Training Act were discussed.

Miyamoto pointed out that labor legislation, in order to prevent the prolonged inability to change jobs freely, allows fix-term contract workers, including technical intern trainees, to leave their jobs after one year of service. However, according to the proposed amendment to the Technical Intern Training Act, job changes by foreign trainees will be prohibited for up to two years.

The expert panel on the law amendment had initially proposed that job transfer be possible after one year, but the proposed period was later changed to two years.

Miyamoto said that this was because of lobbying from industry groups. He said, “It could unfairly bind foreign trainees to one place. Is Japan going to prioritize business interests over the protection of human rights of foreign nationals?”

Justice Minister Koizumi Ryuji justified the proposed amendment by saying, “We need to take into account the management of companies that accept foreign trainees.”