Local Japanese governments call for more help to cope with expected influx of foreign workers
Japanese cities with large populations of foreign nationals on Tuesday urged the central government to offer more assistance as the country prepares to start accepting workers from overseas under a new visa system. Leaders and representatives of 15 municipalities with an especially high concentration of ...
Japan's denial of immigration reality echoes Germany's experience with 'guest workers'
The recent sweeping revision to the immigration law opens a gateway for as many as 345,000 migrant workers to enter Japan in the next five years. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, has repeatedly said the new visa system does not constitute an immigration policy. "This ...
Government seeks public feedback on draft ordinances for foreign blue-collar workers
As Japan prepares to open its doors wider to foreign blue-collar workers from April, the Justice Ministry on Friday started soliciting public comment on drafts of ordinances and regulations that will set conditions for employing migrant workers. One of the proposed ordinances would set qualifying ...
65% against Diet passage of foreign workers' bill: Kyodo News poll
A poll finds over 65 percent of voters were against the Diet’s passage earlier in the month of a bill to accept more foreign blue-collar workers from April.
Japan passes controversial immigration bill paving way for foreign worker influx
The bill has elicited a fierce backlash from opposition lawmakers, who say it is void of key specifics.
Ramen chain Ichiran faces charges for allegedly working foreign students longer than permitted
Police are set to refer ramen chain Ichiran and some of its managerial staff to prosecutors this week for allegedly breaking the immigration law by forcing foreign students to work illegally long hours at two stores in Osaka, investigative sources said Monday. Ichiran, founded in ...
Girl-recruiting teacher in hot water
Police have handed prosecutors their case against a 59-year-old Iwate University professor who arranged for four foreign students to work as part-time nightclub hostesses. Masamichi Okazaki arranged job interviews between the owner of a bar in Morioka and the four girls, a Chinese and three ...
A nonprofit organization in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, has published a guidebook written in simple Japanese aimed at helping foreigners living in Japan understand the latest revisions to immigration regulations. Mieko Suzuki, 66, leader of the organization Tochigi Times, published the book in May to inform ...
