Tag - expats

 
 

EXPATS

Managing Director of Cornerstone Recruitment Japan Director Matt Nicholls says a good recruiter has tenacity, drive and can handle the ups and downs of the job.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 9, 2024
Matt Nicholls: ‘People like having control over their earning potential’
A seasoned recruiter tells us why he's spent the last decade doing business in Japan and what he's learned from growing and leading multinational firms.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024
A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan
Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture. Japan is set to sharply increase the number of foreign nationals it accepts under its skilled worker visa, with plans to receive up to 800,000 people in the next five years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024
Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers
The government is said to be considering adding the road transportation, railway, forestry and timber sectors to those eligible for the visa.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said the guidelines were being revised to provide more examples of positive and negative factors for evaluation in deciding whether to grant an individual special permission for residence.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024
Japan's Immigration Agency sets new guidelines for visa overstayers
A legislative amendment will outline the new guidelines to improve transparency and allow individuals to directly apply for special permission to stay.
Police officers assist a woman in front of a police box in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2024
Tokyo police mistakenly arrest Filipino man for allegedly overstaying
Police released the Filipino man and offered an apology about an hour after arresting him on Saturday.
A new future initiative aimed at training foreign workers is part of a broader strategy to address pressing labor shortages in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2024
Japan eyes training foreign workers amid labor shortages
The proposed training system will supersede the current foreign technical internship system.
Prospective foreign vocational school graduates who finish education ministry-accredited academic courses will be granted “technology, humanities and international affairs” residence status intended for white-collar workers such as engineers, interpreters and designers, even if their jobs don’t necessarily relate to what they have studied.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2024
Japan eases residency rules for foreign graduates of vocational schools
The relaxation of rules is aimed at retaining highly skilled professionals amid a chronic labor shortage.
Maurice Shelton (left) and his lawyer Motoki Taniguchi spoke about alleged racial bias on behalf of the police at a recent press conference.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Feb 29, 2024
Making Japanese history by being Black history
Three individuals have stepped up to try and make a difference in the country we live in. They should be applauded.
Indonesian trainees study Japanese at a dormitory in the town of Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 14.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2024
Only 45 quake-hit foreign trainees in Japan allowed to do other jobs
In the prefecture, around 670 foreign technical interns reside in six municipalities severely impacted by the disaster.
A general election must take place in the U.K. by late January 2025, which means plenty of time for expats abroad to register and vote.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 26, 2024
As more U.K. expats get the vote, Japan’s ballot box stays closed
As of Jan. 16, Brits abroad — including the more than 17,000 in Japan — are able to register to vote regardless of how long they have lived overseas.
Myint Myint Aye (left) poses with her supporter in Nagoya on Thursday after she being granted refugee status in Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2024
Japan grants refugee status to Myanmar democracy advocate
Myint Myint Aye, who came to Japan in January 2019 as a technical intern, has been a vocal advocate for democracy in her country.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in 2018
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2024
Japan considers revoking permanent resident status of tax dodgers
Immigration authorities are considering revoking the residency status of foreign permanent residents who evade or repeatedly delay paying their taxes.
The University of Tokyo's Hongo campus
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2024
University of Tokyo to launch new program with 50% foreign students
The course aims to nurture talent to lead efforts to resolve global issues such as climate change, a university source said.
Diagnosed at a young age with a rare variant of glycogen storage disease type IV, Mark Bookman went on to distinguish himself in academia in both the United States and Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 19, 2024
New film honors life and legacy of disability pioneer Mark Bookman
Free screenings of THE new documentary on Japan-based disability rights advocate Mark Bookman will be held around Tokyo on Feb. 24, 25 and 27.
Firefighters remove rubble from the former site of a market in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 6, after a fire broke out following a strong earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas on Jan. 1.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Foreign firefighters stifled by Japanese bureaucracy
Ambiguous rules have left some firefighters confused about how their much-needed abilities can be utilized.
A site near Lake Hamana in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture, where a boy's body was found
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 14, 2024
Body of 17-year-old boy found in central lake; murder suspected
Prefectural police have set up a special team to investigate the suspected murder.
Facing severe shortages of drivers, Japan will offer tests for driver's licenses for taxis and buses in foreign languages to attract more foreign nationals to the sector.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 11, 2024
Japan taxi and bus driver's license tests to go multilingual
The National Police Agency will issue sample exam questions nationwide in 20 languages by the end of March.
Foreign tourists in the city of Tottori in November
JAPAN / Society
Feb 10, 2024
Most Japanese outside major urban areas say they do not engage with foreign nationals
Of the people who gave valid responses, 83.8% said they do not have regular exchanges with the foreign nationals who live alongside them.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discusses a new foreign worker system, in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 9, 2024
Japan to end technical intern program and allow transfers to new jobs
A planned new system will focus on securing and developing essential workers from abroad to tackle the country's current labor shortage.
Japanese police have arrested four Vietnamese people for allegedly stealing more than 5,000 items from Uniqlo and other clothing shops in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2024
Four Vietnamese arrested for repeated shoplifting at Uniqlo
The group is believed to have stolen 5,237 items, with estimated losses totaling around ¥20 million.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals