About 250 non-Japanese staged a protest march Sunday on the streets of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, to call for employment and assistance for foreign temporary workers who have lost their jobs to the deepening recession.
They urged companies to stop firing temp workers. Manufacturers have announced plans in recent weeks to lay off large numbers of such “nonregular” employees.
“We have been treated as disposable, but we work in Japan legally and pay taxes. We want to be treated the same as Japanese workers,” said Moizeis Dias Mizuki, a 49-year-old Japanese-Brazilian from Komaki, Aichi Prefecture.