Firms employing record numbers of foreigners
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO - While officially Tokyo refuses to budge from its stance of staying closed to foreigners seeking jobs here, statistics and programs launched by the private sector to promote better access to employment are already pointing to the contrary.
Data compiled by the Japanese Health, Welfare and Labor Ministry show that a record number of foreigners - 760,000 for 2003 - are employed by Japanese companies. This number is up from 660,000 in 1998.
The steady rise in numbers has made foreigners, excluding ethnic Koreans, Japan's largest minority, and it has made illegal workers account for 1.5 percent of total employment in the country.
''There is no doubt that the job environment is now much more receptive to foreigners compared to before,'' says Taro Yoneyama, an official in the international labor policy division in the ministry.
Currently, Japanese labor laws only allow foreigners to be employed in "specialized" jobs, such as working as English teachers, chefs of ethnic cuisine and, more recently, as engineers in the information technology industry.
But homogenous Japan is under intense pressure, both from its own business sector, as well as other Asian countries, to open its labor market to foreigners.
Proponents have long argued that immigrants are important to ease the impact of Japan's aging population. By 2020, 25 percent of Japanese citizens will be over 65, making this country home to one of the world's fastest aging populations.
The Justice Ministry estimates that the labor force will shrink 10 percent to 60 million by 2025, slashing the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 6 percent.
Thai, Filipino doctors and nurses needed
In April, negotiations on Japan setting up separate free trade agreements with Thailand and the Philippines also included requests that Tokyo accept doctors and nurses from the two countries in order to meet the increasing needs for health care in this aging country.
Thailand has already started programs to teach Thai masseurs the Japanese language, in a bid to encourage such foreign labor here. The Philippines, a key exporter of nurses to Western countries, also has sent trainees to Japan to pave the way for future employment.
But senior politicians and bureaucrats remain reluctant to open the doors wider for foreign workers in Japan. They argue that there is a need to protect domestic workers against a high unemployment rate - 5.2 percent - and say that a more liberal environment poses "risks" to the country's homogeneous society.
"High standards of health care can be jeopardized by language problems. We must also consider that cultural acceptance is very different in Japan compared to the Philippines and Thailand," explains Yoneyama, the official in the health, welfare and labor ministry.
The issue of whether to import nurses and caregivers from Asia remains a bitterly debated issue in Japan.
While statistics indicate that the supply of Japanese nurses, who now number 1.3 million, is sufficient until 2005, the medical sector has long predicted that the demand will escalate dramatically as the numbers of elderly Japanese rise.
But Yoneyama says a key issue for the government remains whether the gap can be filled by new machinery or even robots - rather than accepting foreigners. The Japan Nursing Association says foreign nurses are not the answer, warning of the "danger" posed by poor communication with patients.
An illustration of the mixed signals in the labor market is the case of seven young Vietnamese women who graduated in April after passing Japan's difficult nursing examination.The women were supported by a program launched by AHP Networks, a Tokyo-based civic organization that helps Vietnamese seeking employment in Japan.
Vietnamese nurses pass tough Japanese exams
"Japanese hospitals face a severe shortage of nurses, and our program was launched 10 years ago to assist Vietnamese in getting jobs in Japan. By entering the Japanese workforce, Vietnamese can earn high salaries compared to what they are paid at home," says Takaiiki Nakamura, head of AHP Networks.
Proponents of the program say that the Vietnamese nurses proved diligent and hardworking. By passing the Japanese exams, they are officially on par with their Japanese counterparts, they add. "I do not view the newly graduated Vietnamese nurses as a sign of foreigners penetrating the labor market," says Shinya Tanaka, a manager at the Itakura Hospital that participated in the Vietnamese nurse program with AHP Networks.
But their hard-earned qualifications have not been enough to gain them full acceptance.
Nguyen Thi Duyen, 23, who participated in the program, says she had to study the Japanese language for two years and then take on the nursing examination after completing another three years at nursing school.
"It was a gruelling experience," says the young woman, who speaks Japanese fluently. Speaking to media in Vietnam, Duyen explains the hardest part was learning the language and getting accustomed to working in hospitals here.
Nakamura says the program invests about US$40,000 per foreign nurse.
The medium-sized Itakura Hospital, where Duyen will be employed, says foreign nurses must work harder if they are to be accepted on the same terms as their Japanese counterparts.
"The Vietnamese women are clever to have passed the difficult Japanese nursing exam. But problems such as language and cultural barriers remain a nagging issue with the management," says Tanaka. He explains that despite the lack of nurses in Japan, hospitals would still give priority to Japanese staff over foreigners.
"Japanese culture is homogeneous, which makes it difficult for us to communicate with foreigners. In the nursing profession, this barrier makes it particularly difficult to hire outsiders because of the danger of accidents," points out Tanaka.
According to the ministry of health, welfare and labor, the majority of foreigners working in Japan, are second-generation Japanese from Latin America who easily find jobs in factories that supply large automobile and manufacturing companies.
Activists say that most foreigners employed in Japan are on short-term contracts, between six months to a year, and rarely have health insurance, bonuses or paid vacation leaves - benefits that are routinely offered to Japanese workers.
Yasuo Yoshinari, spokesman for Asian People's Friendship Society, which helps Asian workers in Japan, says the perception among some here that foreigners cannot be trusted also makes it difficult for immigrants to make inroads in Japan.
"Filipino and Thai nurses will not find it easy in Japan. The labor market is tough - long working hours and strict unwritten social rules make it very difficult for foreigners to get promoted to high-paying and responsible jobs," Yoshinari says.
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