How Immigration Policy Can Shape Japan’s Path to Becoming a Chosen Nation

In a webinar supported by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Press Centre Japan (FPCJ) invited leading foreign journalists covering immigration issues to hear from them about the challenges facing Japan.

The webinar included media from:

• South Korea, where the population is declining faster than Japan’s and foreign workers are being brought in thanks to higher pay
• Vietnam, where most technical interns in Japan come from
• France, one of the first countries in Europe to accept immigrants for integration

With local experts, they discussed what immigration policy Japan should implement to bring in more foreign workers.

In June, revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act were passed. The foreign technical intern trainee system, which for more than 30 years was one of the ways to hire foreigners as unskilled labor, is being replaced with a new training and employment system. The system aims to both train workers and acquire them for Japan, with trainees intended to get Specific Skilled Worker visas after the end of their training period, welcoming foreigners to Japan as workers who might stay in the long term.

With Japan’s population decline and super-aging society, foreign workers are already vital to society and the economy, and systems are being prepared to expand the number of foreign workers brought in to make up for the decline in the productive working population. However, until now there has not been a direct, comprehensive discussion of immigration policy overall, including the future of Japanese society and how much Japan intends to become a multiethnic, multicultural nation.

Moderated by FPCJ President Kazuo Kodama, the panelists were:

• Keynote Speaker Toshihiro Menju, a visiting professor at Kansai University of International Studies and former managing director and chief program officer at the Japan Center for International Exchange
• Yeong-Hyo Jeong, economic desk deputy editor and former Tokyo Bureau chief at the Korea Economic Daily
• Tuyen Nguyen Cam, Tokyo Bureau chief at Vietnam News Agency
• Régis Arnaud, Tokyo correspondent for Le Figaro (France)

State of Immigration in Japan 

In his keynote speech based on his years of involvement in the issue of foreign nationals in Japan, Menju noted that even though it is common sense to accept foreign nationals into Japan with the assumption they will become long-term residents, due to Japan facing a rapid population decline, the term “immigrant” is considered taboo in Japan, and so it is not possible to have an honest debate about immigration. He also noted that in the recent House of Representatives election, there was only superficial debate over the issue of population decline, but almost no politicians directly mentioned immigration policy or accepting foreign nationals in Japan. He referred to the “immigration dilemma” as the lack of earnest debate about accepting foreign nationals, despite a rapidly declining population and worsening labor shortage. This persists even as efforts are made to address the issue by encouraging women and seniors to work or by adopting AI and robotics.

He explained why foreign workers are rapidly becoming a necessity; the government’s stance of not having an immigration policy; the risks from a rapid increase in de factor immigration, and how Japan can become a country to be chosen by immigrants. He said Japan’s population decline was more severe than other countries, and that it would be difficult to maintain the economy and society without accepting foreign nationals into Japan.

Summary

Kodama: The evidence-based analysis and arguments provided by Menju, as well as the diverse perspectives provided by the foreign correspondents, were important hints for furthering the discussion on immigration policy in Japanese society.

Tuyen: With Vietnam currently being in its golden population phase, it was the perfect timing to cooperate with Japan. She indicated her hopes that Vietnamese workers could bring the knowledge and skills they acquired overseas back home.

Arnaud: Japan was one of the most culturally appealing countries in the world, and that the time had come to take advantage of that to build a new model for accepting immigrants.

Jeong: Since South Korea and Japan were facing labor shortages, a win-win relationship could be built through active efforts to cooperate and exchange highly skilled workers in specific areas between Japan and South Korea.

Menju: The importance of the Japanese government implementing something along the lines of a “Basic Law for a Society Coexisting with Foreign Nationals” to indicate its intentions regarding coexisting with foreign nationals, and providing clear, specific policies for supporting them. 

The FPCJ was established as a foundation in 1976 with joint investment from the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association and Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), and became a public interest incorporated foundation in 2011. To help people around the world gain a deeper understanding of Japan, the FPCJ cooperates with journalists on news coverage, invites journalists to Japan and provides up-to-date information about Japan through its website and social media: https://fpcj.jp/

See the full webinar here: https://fpcj.jp/en/useful-en/wjn-en/p=113639/