The government will introduce a point system by the end of the year to give preferential treatment–such as easing the conditions for permanent residency–to non-Japanese with advanced expertise who want to come to Japan, according to a government source.
The government is likely to award points to non-Japanese who meet certain criteria concerning their educational background, work experience and annual income.
The business world has asked the government to introduce the system amid heightened competition with other Asian nations to acquire competent manpower.
According to a rough draft by the Justice Ministry, the point system is expected to cover foreigners working in the fields of academic research, advanced expertise and technology and business management.
The government is likely to provide an evaluation system to conduct an objective rating on a 100-point scale.
For example, under the category of business management, the government is likely to allocate 35 points for a candidate’s academic background; 15 points for working career; 35 points for annual income and 15 points for the candidate’s status at his or her current company.
The government is expected to add bonus points according to Japanese language skill and previous places of employment. The pass line is expected to be 70 out of 100 points.
The government also has been considering requests made by non-Japanese already living in Japan for changes to the current system.
The changes being discussed include:
— Easing the conditions to obtain permanent residency, so that persons may apply after living in Japan for a consecutive three to five years, instead of the current 10 years.
— Extending the period of stay to five years for people holding visas of up to three years.
— Allowing such workers to be accompanied by their financially-dependent parents and their employees, such as maids.
— Eliminating the 28-hour per week work limit for dependent spouses.
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An Immigration Stimulus for Japan
Allowing in more foreign workers would boost growth, especially in quake-ravaged areas.
Recent economic data showed that Japan was slipping into recession even before the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11. In the aftermath of that natural disaster, putting the country back on an economic-growth track is doubly important as the government and businesses try to finance reconstruction. Given the urgency of the challenge, any and all pro-growth policy options should be on the table. That includes a controversial but important measure: immigration reform.
Population is a central problem confronting Japan. A falling birth rate and an aging population mean that the country has far too few young, productive workers. This will become even more noticeable as the current working generation begins to retire. Unless radical policies are implemented, it is simply a matter of time before manufacturing, consumption, tax receipts, fiscal health, the pension and welfare system, and the very ability of people to make a living will all collapse under the inexorable dual pressures of rapid aging and rapid declines in the young working population.
The only solution is to import more workers. I estimate that Japan needs to welcome some 10 million immigrants over the next 50 years to avoid the negative consequences of population decline. That would bring immigrant numbers to about 10% of the population, the level in the U.K., France and Germany.
Such numbers would spur growth because new markets and demand would arise for clothing, food, education, labor, finance, tourism and information. Robust immigration policies would encourage foreign investors to reassess long-term economic prospects, starting another virtuous cycle of interaction with the outside world.
Immigration will be critical to reinvigorating Japan’s most important industries. Take farming: The farming population of Japan declined by 750,000 between 2005 and 2010, bringing it to merely 2.6 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The average age of a farmer is 65.8 years.
This makes it a certainty that in 10 years, the farming population will decline by roughly half. The fishing industry faces the same fate. The population of fishermen and the volume of their catches are headed in the same direction: down, rapidly.
This demographic trend was already afflicting areas such as the rice-growing areas in Miyagi Prefecture that are now reeling from the March 11 disaster. Unless radical reform is implemented, the decline will only accelerate as older farmers balk at rebuilding and younger workers continue to flee. It will simply not be possible to rebuild local industries using only Japanese employees that have only a few more years in the workforce left.
Nor is the list of regions in need of immigration confined to those affected by the disaster. Aichi Prefecture, the heart of Japanese industry and home to iconic companies such as Toyota, is a case in point. The population that supported the economy in these areas in the past has declined. For instance, in Aichi prefecture not only did the total population decline between 2000 and 2009, but the percentage of working-age persons (age 15-64) dropped to 65.5% from 69.8%. Similar rapid trends have affected Niigata Prefecture, a rice-growing center, and the Sanriku Oki area, one of the finest fishing grounds in the world.
The problem extends deeper than mere numbers of workers. One consequence of a shrinking population is that visionaries and risk-takers—entrepreneurs in business, politics, education, journalism and the arts—become scarcer and scarcer. That compounds the phenomenon that a society that was highly homogeneous to begin with has educated its people with standardized content in a culture that discourages too much free thinking. Lack of fresh faces makes the country seem increasingly sterile.
Because Japan has traditionally been such a homogeneous place, many have feared the prospect of greater immigration. Yet a pro-immigration policy doesn’t have to undermine Japanese values or culture. If policy makers have the will to encourage greater immigration, they can find ways to do it well.
The centerpiece of any immigration policy would be to ensure the country attracts highly skilled workers and provides them with a clear path to integrate into Japanese society. To start, Japan needs a total overhaul of its system for foreign students and trainees. Currently those students have few or no prospects for staying permanently. Only 30% of foreign students graduating from Japanese universities stay in Japan. That number must be closer to 70%.
Not only must the government do more to attract students in a wider range of fields, including vocational areas such as agriculture, but policy makers must make it easier for those workers to stay permanently. A country with a declining population does not need guest workers. This would involve simplifying the procedure for gaining permanent residency and even citizenship. At a minimum, any foreign worker in steady employment should be able to apply for permanent status.
In some respects, boosting immigration can seem like a daunting task. The government needs to reform the pension system to cover workers who immigrate in mid-career; landlords must be more willing to accept non-Japanese tenants; citizenship laws need to offer citizenship from birth to the children of immigrants. Policy makers also will need to work to change the culture within companies. For instance, foreign workers often are discriminated against in terms of salary and promotion opportunities. Government should press the private sector to end this sort of practice.
These reforms would be significant, but none would require sacrificing the best features of Japanese life. For instance, government should actively encourage immigrants to master the language—and everyone should remember that children born to immigrants likely will grow up fluent if we ensure they’re allowed to integrate into society. And despite caricatures of frightening or violent foreigners in the popular imagination, immigration won’t compromise public safety as long as Japan is attracting highly skilled, employed immigrants and allowing them and their families opportunities for social and economic advancement.
Japan must recognize that globalization is here to stay, and should stake its very survival on accepting people elsewhere in the world as its brethren, and transforming itself into a much more multicultural, diverse society. It will be a large task, but Japan is past the point where easy solutions will do.
Mr. Sakanaka is executive director of the Humanitarian Immigrant Support Center in Tokyo. He previously served as the Chief of Entry and Residence at the Nagoya and Tokyo Immigration Bureaus.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303714704576384841676111236.html
Gov’t eyes giving local public servants right to bargain over wages
The government is considering giving local public servants the right to forge agreements with their employers on their pay and working hours through negotiations in new legislation, government sources said Monday.
30% of workers 15 to 24 ‘nonregular’
Nonregular employees accounted for 30.4 percent of workers aged 15 to 24 in calender 2010, up 0.4 percentage point from the previous year, the government said Tuesday.
Cashing in on the time change
Restaurants, retailers and language schools have been rolling out business strategies and special offers aimed at attracting people whose workplaces have introduced in-house daylight saving time programs.
Aloha shirts ok as Japan seeks to beat heat
Neckties are out and casual shirts in, even aloha shirts, as Japanese businessmen shed their conservative dress and stodgy image to save electricity.
Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off an ongoing nuclear crisis at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, meaning that the eastern part of the country faces a severe power shortage as it heads into the sizzling summer months.
Spearheading efforts to stay cool in the office, the Environment Ministry launched its “Super Cool Biz” campaign on Wednesday, a stepped-up version of summer dress-down movements carried out over the past few years.
“As we are lacking electricity, the Japanese government is asking for a 15 percent reduction in electricity consumption,” said Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto.
“This is not just about surviving this summer, but is a big turning point for changing the way Japanese live and our lifestyle.”
Workers at the ministry turned to casual attire, coming in tieless and wearing short-sleeved shirts, including brightly-colored Hawaiian-style shirts. Sneakers, blue jeans and t-shirts are all allowed as well.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which runs the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has said it expects summer electricity demand in eastern Japan to be 55 million kilowatts, with the supply tight.
Electricity use soars in the steamy summers, when temperatures can rise as high as 40 C (104 F).
Public response to the campaign was mixed, with some lauding it for conservation efforts while others said care still had to be taken for appearances.
“I think people should choose what they wear, because you can look sloppy,” said Yasuko Yokoyama, a 48-year-old housewife.
Businesses are adopting their own measures, with some shifting workdays to the weekend, when demand will be lower, setting thermostats higher, and keeping lighting to a minimum.
KDDI, one of Japan’s largest communications firms, will allow employees to leave early and work from home from June 27. It already is cutting down on lighting use and has set thermostats at 28 C (82.4 F)
“Up to now, Japanese had stereotypical habits of working from Monday to Friday, 9 to 5,” said Kou Iizawa, a manager at the company.
“Though we have had this unfortunate incident, it is acting as a catalyst to change our work habits. I hope we will become as progressive as Western countries — and we should enjoy our leisure hours more.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/02/us-japan-cool-idUSTRE7512SC20110602
Foreign refugees pitch in to help
Volunteers head north to assist tsunami victims
Myo Myint Swe, a 42-year-old refugee from Myanmar, said that since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, he wanted to help those in the Tohoku region affected by the devastation.
A 20-year resident of Japan who received his refugee status in 2005, Myo said he knows how difficult it is to be forced into fleeing home and seeking refuge elsewhere, but felt that in some ways the situation for people in Tohoku could be worse.
“We’re refugees because of human-made disasters. In the case of the people in (the) Tohoku region, they are evacuees of natural disasters. But while we have someone to cast our anger at, people in Tohoku, they lost their families and homes but don’t have anyone to blame because it’s an act of nature,” he said. “It may sound a bit strange coming from me, but I really feel sorry for them.”
Myo was among a group of volunteers that included other refugees as well as foreign exchange students and Japanese nationals who took part in a Tohoku disaster relief project organized by the Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit organization supporting asylum seekers.
According to JAR spokeswoman Mihoko Kashima, the volunteer project that began in late April and will continue until the end of this month was inspired by the voices of refugees like Myo who said they wanted to help people in Tohoku. So far, more than 70 people have traveled to Rikuzentakata through the program, including about seven refugees, she said.
Chinese exodus hurts industries dependent on foreign trainees, interns
According to the Japan Textile Federation, about 40,000 foreign interns, 99 percent of whom were from China, worked at textile-related companies before the March 11 quake. Many returned to China after the disasters, creating big difficulties for the companies.
At a sewing plant in Tokyo, four interns returned to China in late April, leaving the plant with none. There were five before the quake.
While the plant continues to operate with its 21 Japanese workers, it has seen a 30-percent decrease in finished women’s clothing.
Under such circumstances, some companies are moving away from their dependence on foreign interns.
For example, a sewing company in the Tohoku region that serves as a subcontractor for a major apparel company had 29 Chinese women working as interns before the quake.
After the disaster, all 29 eventually returned to China, although only 10 had completed their contract periods.
The company president tried to convince the 19 who still had time remaining on their contract periods that they were safe from the radiation of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. But some refused to work.
In late March, they all returned to their homeland. The president now fears clients will lose trust in the company if it has to cancel orders. Sales in the month after the quake have decreased by about 10 million yen ($122,000).
The president is now thinking about using only Japanese workers.
“If the expenses for (going to China to) recruit and train are added to their wages, Chinese interns now cost more than Japanese workers,” the president said. “I intend to do away with accepting interns over the next three to five years.”
A Chinese who has helped bring interns to Japan said parents were hesitant about sending their only child to a Japan that is no longer considered a safe neighbor.
While the number of interns and students accepted in the past was an attempt to make up for the lack of labor and Japanese students due to the declining birth rate and aging population, it now appears the trend to avoid Japan by foreigners could be a long-term one.
That will hurt other industries, such as restaurants and convenience stores that depend on Chinese workers.
For example, the ramen chain Hidakaya had about 1,400 part-time workers at its 250 or so branches throughout Japan. About 90 percent of those workers were Chinese.
About 700 of them have returned to China, forcing about 50 Hidakaya branches to shorten business hours by an average four hours.
According to officials of Cerebrix Corp., which dispatches part-time workers to convenience stores, about 3,000 Chinese worked at about 1,000 stores in six Tokyo wards before the quake. Almost all have returned to China after the disasters, and most of those stores had to scramble through late March to find replacement workers.
According to the Justice Ministry, about 470,000 foreigners, including about 170,000 Chinese, left Japan between March 12 and April 1.
Japanese Workers Told To Dump Business Suits
Japanese workers have been told to swap starched suits for flimsy summer apparel so that offices can turn off their air conditioning systems amid concern over power shortages post-Fukushima.
Known as Super Cool Biz, the radical dress code will be put in place in June in an effort to reduce electricity consumption by 15 percent and relieve pressure on the country’s electricity grid.
Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March, electricity companies have dealt with increasing temperatures by scheduling power cuts in the north of the country and reopening coal and oil-fired power stations.
The new policy, introduced by the Ministry of Environment, will see offices kept at 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius), with even the most senior employees encouraged to don polo shirts, plain T-shirts and even Aloha shirts, along with jeans, sneakers and sandals.
Sportswear, shorts and beach shoes will not be allowed, according to a draft dress guide leaked to the Japanese media.
The ministry, perhaps aware that the new casual dress code may be met with resistance by senior workers, plans to organize a fashion show highlighting Super Cool Biz styles.
However, when the new policy was announced by Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet, only two officials — not including the prime minister — showed up in the new look summer outfits.
Summer Bonuses Going Up 4.17% At Big Firms
Summer bonuses at large companies are set to grow for a second straight year, according to the results of a first-round survey published Wednesday by the Japan Business Federation, or Nippon Keidanren.
The average agreed-on bonus was up 4.17% from last year to 809,604 yen, reflecting the economic recovery up until the March 11 earthquake.