Business Mar 13, 2020
COVID-19 school closures open door for housekeepers and babysitters in Japan
by Masumi Koizumi
Surveys have shown that most know about the services, but many are reluctant to try them.
National | FINDING COMMON GROUND Jan 3, 2018
Filipinos and Nepalese face challenges in Japan even as their communities grow
by Tomohiro Osaki and May Masangkay
While Japan tends to be uneasy about immigration, it is simultaneously host to many non-Japanese people working hard to make lives for themselves, including sizable communities from the Philippines and Nepal.
National / Social Issues Feb 4, 2017
Japan cracks door for foreign housekeepers but pay, rights remain major issues
Restrictions on hiring foreign housekeepers are being eased to help women with children re-enter the workforce, but high prices and labor rights remain hurdles to expanding the industry.
National Jan 30, 2017
Under new program, foreign housekeepers will start work in Kanagawa and Osaka in March
The first foreign housekeepers to be hired under a government policy aimed at helping Japanese professional women re-enter the workforce will take up their new duties as early as March.
National May 10, 2016
Tokyo warms to idea of reducing immigration hurdles for foreign housekeepers
by Reiji Yoshida
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government considers asking the central government for special deregulated zone status so it can import foreign housekeepers.
National Jan 28, 2016
Osaka moves to allow foreign housekeepers
by Atsushi Kodera
Osaka Prefecture has decided to go ahead with a national government program allowing foreign nationals to work as housekeepers as part of a larger push toward greater participation of women in the workforce. Some industry insiders have been quick to point out, however, that the ...
Business | YEN FOR LIVING Jan 9, 2016
Low wages at the heart of foreign labor shortage woes
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
There has been a lot of discussion recently about allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for severe labor shortages in some fields. As of the end of 2014, the labor ministry estimated there were 790,000 foreign nationals working in Japan legally, ...
National / Social Issues | FYI Oct 26, 2015
Plan to hire more foreign housekeepers no easy chore, say industry players
by Atsushi Kodera
The role of housekeepers has come under the spotlight as the government looks to them to provide working mothers with help at home as one way to prop up the nation's dwindling workforce. Under the government's plan, visa requirements have been relaxed in two regions ...
National / Social Issues Oct 10, 2014
Plans adopted to import foreign housekeepers in name of female empowerment
The government on Friday adopted a set of proposals to lure more foreign housekeeping professionals and establish a new system for regional nursery staff as part of efforts to promote women's participation in the economy. The Cabinet plans to submit a bill to the extraordinary ...
Business Jun 23, 2014
Foreign maids the talk of Kansai zone
by Eric Johnston
Discussions began in Osaka on Monday on a proposed special economic zone in the Kansai region that will include an experimental program to attract foreign maids to the region. An initiative backed by the central government, the zone is a series of locations in Hyogo, ...
National Nov 20, 2013
ACCJ urges rise in foreign housekeepers so women can join workforce
The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan is calling on the government to increase the number of foreign domestic workers and expand after-school support for children to help bring more women into the workforce. The business organization said such measures are necessary for the Abe ...