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Will open-door immigration plan die after Fukuda?
The hope was provided by a group of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who drafted a bold proposal to create a new immigration policy that would raise the population of foreigners in Japan to 10 percent of the overall population in the next 50 years. The proposal was handed to Prime Minister Yasuo…
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Number of foreign workers at Japanese firms leaps over previous figures
Back in March of 2007, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported that the number of foreigners working at Japanese firms had hit a record high of 222,929 at the end of May 2006. Looking at the growth in figures at the time, it seemed reasonable to assume that the number of foreigners working…
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Japan defends steps to end discrimination
In a new report to the United Nations, the government outlines the situation of ethnic minorities and foreign residents in Japan, claiming it has made “every conceivable” effort over the past several years to eliminate racial discrimination. Occasionally sounding on the defensive, the report, released Friday, sidesteps the issue of a comprehensive law prohibiting discrimination…
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Helping hand for immigrants
Hope seen in plan to promote Japanese-language education, visas Under the plan, the rights of immigrants, defined by the U.N. as people who live outside their home country more than 12 months, would be bolstered and efforts made to make life more convenient for them here. Those already in Japan would receive the same benefits…
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Foreign workers need social security
Opinion is firming in the government and the Liberal Democratic Party that Japan should more proactively accept workers from overseas. This development comes against the backdrop of the business world facing increasingly serious labor shortages amid the accelerating globalization of markets and the rapid aging of society coupled with the chronically low birthrate. Expansion of…
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DPJ may face backlash over suffrage issue
Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa’s pet project to give foreign permanent residents the right to vote in local elections is facing fierce opposition within the party. The party has been discussing the issue through the vehicle of an advisory body. However, the discussion reached a stalemate, with both sides locked in a bitter…
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An aging Japan slowly opens up to foreigners
Yanti Kartina left her family in Indonesia and joined 200 other nurses in moving to Japan, where a rapidly growing elderly population has created a desperate need for careers in old-age homes and hospitals. The nurses, who are expected to learn Japanese and requalify as they work, are seen as an important test case as…
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Once a ‘gaijin,’ always a ‘gaijin’
Gaijin. It seems we hear the word every day. For some, it’s merely harmless shorthand for “gaikokujin” (foreigner). Even Wikipedia (that online wall for intellectual graffiti artists) had a section on “political correctness” that claimed illiterate and oversensitive Westerners had misunderstood the Japanese word. I take a different view: Gaijin is not merely a word;…
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More children born with a foreign parent
Japan needs to deal with legal ramifications, experts say One of every 30 babies born in Japan in 2006 had at least one parent originating from overseas, according to a recent government survey. The survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found that the mother, father or both parents of 35,651 babies born here…
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Steps eyed to triple foreign students here
Goal to enroll 300,000 by 2020 The government, hoping to boost the ranks of foreign students in Japan to 300,000 by around 2020 from 118,500 at present, unveiled steps Tuesday that include simplifying immigration procedures and allowing candidates to complete admission and accommodations applications in their own countries. “We aim to accept 300,000 students from…