Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2016 April 20 - 26 [LABOR]

Use of foreign trainees to cover Japan’s labor shortages is unacceptable: JCP Shimizu

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Shimizu Tadashi on April 19 said that it is unacceptable to use the foreign trainee program to fulfill labor demand under the guise of “making an international contribution” at a House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee meeting discussing a bill to revise the program.

The government has explained that as the Technical Intern Training Program aims to contribute to developing countries’ economic development by transferring Japan’s advanced technological skills to the trainees from those countries, they are able to make use of acquired skills to assist in their countries’ development.

Noting that 350,000 foreign trainees came to Japan under the program over the past five years, Shimizu asked about their current situation.

A Labor Ministry official in charge of the program only presented the results of a follow-up survey in which the response rate was below 1%. This clearly shows that the government has next to no information about the program’s effectiveness.

Shimizu cited the fact that in the Shikoku region, an advertisement for the foreign trainee program was sent to nursing-care facility operators. It says that the program is “useful for those wishing to cover labor shortages with foreigners”. “The program is playing a role as a tool to supply cheap labor to understaffed industries,” said Shimizu.

Past related articles:
> Illegal labor practices and human rights abuses against foreign trainees unacceptable: JCP Hatano [April 7, 2016]
> Abe’s attempt to increase use of foreign trainees will lead to further deterioration of their human rights [May 25, 2014]