A controversial new regulation will allow more foreign workers into Japan. But can Japan take care of them once they arrive?
On November 27, Japan’s Lower House passed a long-disputed new regulation letting more foreign workers into the country. Passed, or rather forced through, for the opposition parties went to extremes to try and prevent the law from being accepted. That made for a strange scene indeed: the liberal-leaning opposition is against a new immigration law, and the conservative ruling party forces it through. What might be the problem with the bill?
The proposed new visa system has been heavily criticized by opposition parties and experts, even though it seemingly tries to act on the severe labor force shortage in Japan due to the rapidly aging society and falling birth rate. The plan targets blue-collar workers in 14 sectors for two kinds of visa statuses, allowing hundreds of thousands of immigrants to spend either five or 10 years in Japan. So far, only highly skilled professionals have been granted long-term visas, such as those in the medical sector, but now newly accepted professions include analysts (not specified), consultants, R&D professionals, trade and finance professionals, financial product developers, construction workers, agricultural workers, and healthcare professionals. These sectors have been identified as sectors suffering the most from labor shortages.
According to analysts, many questions loom with this new policy. For one, exact numbers are yet to be confirmed, which causes concern, especially with regards to social infrastructure. There have been cases in the past when rushed immigration policies placed a heavy burden on local communities and foreigners alike due to the lack of social infrastructure. A notable case is the major influx of nikkeijins in the 1990s. Nikkeijin is a term used for South American citizens of Japanese descent, who formed diaspora communities mainly in Brazil and Peru.
