Reporting by PACNEWS Editor, Makereta Komai in Tokyo
Japan’s ageing population and shortage of workers could open up more opportunities for skilled workers from the Pacific.
At a briefing with journalists from the Pacific and the Caribbean in Tokyo on Monday, Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie, President of the Association for Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC) said the number of foreign residents in Japan has continued to grow.
From the last national census report, non-Japanese foreign workers have increased to 3.84 million.
He said Japan needs to “co-exist with its neighbours and the rest of the world” but this needs to be done in a balanced way.
Japan is facing a serious shortage of workers in several areas, including agriculture.
“There is a labour shortage problem in the agriculture sector and there is an expectation in Japan that we want to have highly skilled people from outside Japan,” Ambassador Shigeie said.
He said Japan also needed to be careful about how it manages immigration.
“Sometimes an over-controlled way doesn’t help,” he said.
Ambassador Shigeie said immigration remains a sensitive issue in Japan.
Some people are concerned that foreign workers could compete with Japanese workers for jobs, while others are worried about the impact on the country’s social safety system.
“I have to mention that some people are sensitive about this. They say it will mean competition for work, and some are worried that social safety will be undermined by foreign workers,” he said.
He said immigration was also raised during Japan’s recent elections, with one political party calling for tighter controls.
The current government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has imposed tough requirements on foreign workers who wish to obtain permanent residency. The new rules require foreign workers who wish to reside permanently in Japan to prove their annual income is above average and they can carry casual conversations in Japanese.
From Thursday last week, the immigration fees have gone up to 200,000 yen (USD$1,275) from the current 10,000 yen.
“It’s a sensitive issue and the Government is under pressure. Recently some fees for immigration have been raised, to target foreign workers,” he said.
“I think immigration issues need to be dealt with in a socially correct way.”
Opportunities for Pacific workers
Japan introduced its Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa programme in April 2019 to bring foreign workers into the country to help address labour shortages.
The programme covers a number of sectors, including agriculture, nursing care, food service, hospitality, manufacturing and construction.
This could provide another pathway for skilled Pacific workers looking for employment opportunities in Japan.
Currently, Pacific Island workers are already taking up employment opportunities overseas, with Australia and New Zealand offering skilled and seasonal work programmes to workers from countries including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Pacific workers wanting to work in Japan under the SSW programme must meet certain requirements.
They must be at least 18 years old, pass a basic Japanese language test and a skills test for the industry they want to work in.
They must also have an employment contract with a Japanese employer.
The employer then applies for a Certificate of Eligibility before the worker applies for the visa through the Japanese embassy or consulate.
For Pacific Island countries, the programme could provide opportunities for skilled workers to gain international work experience, earn income and develop new skills.
With Japan facing a growing shortage of workers, the demand for workers from outside the country is expected to remain an important issue.
For the Pacific, the question is how their governments can leverage their diplomatic relations with Japan to grant these employment opportunities for skilled workers from the Pacific.
