Japanese businesses hit by lack of Chinese trainees amid virus outbreak
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has dealt a heavy blow to the manufacturing, farming and fishing industries in rural areas, as it has halted the arrival of Chinese trainees they have relied on for labor. A textile manufacturer in Fukui Prefecture said one of ...
Myanmar man arrested for murder of compatriot in central Japan
Police arrested on Tuesday a 28-year-old Myanmar man on suspicion of stabbing to death a compatriot co-worker in a company cafeteria in Mie Prefecture. Kaung Kyaw Htet was arrested for allegedly stabbing Ye Htet Zaw, 25, in the back sometime between 4 p.m. and 4:25 ...
Japan's new visa system on track to fall far short of target
The government is likely to fall far short of its target of issuing work permits under a new visa system to 340,000 non-Japanese over the next five years to alleviate acute labor shortages in 14 sectors. As of the end of September, only 219 foreign ...
A survey finds a large majority of Japanese believe the nation needs to create a more welcoming environment for foreign residents.
Japan's immigration chief optimistic asylum and visa woes will improve in 2020
With Japan expecting to welcome a record 40 million visitors in 2020, including for the Summer Games, immigration authorities are strengthening security to manage the influx and prevent abuse of their policies. "We need to enhance measures to prevent any terror attacks," said Shoko Sasaki, ...
To streamline and improve the system for inviting people from overseas to work in this country, the technical intern program should either be drastically overhauled or scrapped.
Only 895 granted blue-collar visas since April, immigration agency admits
The immigration service had issued just 895 working permits as of early November under the new visa system for skilled blue-collar foreign workers, a far lower number than had originally been forecast for this time, agency officials said Wednesday. The program, which was introduced in ...
Japan's immigration agency to adopt stricter measures to curb disappearances of foreign trainees
The agency will ban firms from taking in new trainees if they are found to have violated the program’s conditions and their trainees have gone missing.
Looking overseas to solve Japan's labor shortage
Japan is running out of time. Where will migrants come from when the international competition for Asian workers heats up?
Japan disqualifies groups supervising foreign trainees in Chiba and Saitama
The Immigration Services Agency and labor ministry have revoked the permits of two organizations that supervise foreign technical trainees, after finding that they had concluded improper deals with agencies seeking to send trainees to Japan. Arrangements entered into by supervisory bodies in the prefectures of ...
Action taken against 112 firms last year for abuses under Japan's foreign intern training program
With cases of abuse ranging from trainees forced to pay illegal deposits to an intern who was forced to work 225 hours of overtime in a month, authorities last year took disciplinary action against 112 firms using the state-sponsored Technical Intern Training Program. The firms ...
Japan's new Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai pledges reform with a focus on immigration
On Friday, newly appointed Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai promised to reform his ministry, including a pledge to more stringently enforce laws and regulations related to immigration. Kawai said the increase of the foreign worker quota under a new visa program that took effect in April ...
