-
·
Senior immigration officer arrested on suspicion of corruption
A senior immigration officer arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes is believed to have told his briber to set up an office in Kawasaki as a front. Arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes in return for favors in the screening of residence permits for female bar workers was Masashi Ogura, 54, a chief screening officer…
-
·
Japan’s ‘modern geisha’ to form labour union
Japan’s bar hostesses, often dubbed “modern geisha”, plan to form their first trade union next month to fight for better wages and conditions, a labour official said on Wednesday. Many “kyabakura-jo”, or cabaret club sisters, complain of unpaid wages and sexual harassment by their customers and employers, said Takeshi Suzuki, a senior official of a…
-
·
A level playing field for immigrants
Despite Japan’s looming demographic disaster — you know, the aging society and population drop due to low birthrates and record-long life spans — we still have no immigration policy. No wonder: The people charged with dealing with non-Japanese (NJ) — i.e. the Ministry of Justice’s Immigration Bureau and sundry business-sector organizations — just police NJ…
-
·
FOREIGNER SUFFRAGE
Local vote for foreign residents: time ripe? Permanent foreign residents of Japan may finally face a realistic chance of being granted local-level suffrage under the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which has signaled a willingness to pursue such rights. Foreign nationals at present can’t vote in national or local-level polls, and changing…
-
·
Agency for foreigners called for
Representatives from municipalities with a large number of foreign residents are calling for the central government to set up a new agency aimed at improving their livelihoods. The proposal made Thursday by a group of 28 municipalities in seven prefectures said they have recognized the need for the government to create such an entity so…
-
·
Number of temporary workers in Japan up 4.6% in fiscal 2008
Japan saw the number of temporary workers rise by 4.6 percent in fiscal 2008, a survey released by the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare showed on Thursday. The number of workers now on temporary contracts stood at 3.99 million for fiscal 2008, in a country that was once known for companies that gave their…
-
·
No. of immigrants applying for repatriation aid hit 16,000 by mid-Nov.
The number of immigrants of Japanese descent who had applied for government repatriation aid since the program began in April had reached roughly 16,000 by mid-November, welfare ministry officials said Monday. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=472071
-
·
Attention ALTs!
If Interac tries to pressure you into signing up for Kokumin Kenko Hoken, don’t do it! Kokumin Kenko Hoken is for people that are self-employed or unemployed. If you sign up for Kokumin Kenko Hoken, you may be forced to back enroll into the system up to the time that you started working in Japan…
-
·
Foreigner vote not reciprocal
The Democratic Party of Japan is likely to give local election voting rights to foreigners with permanent residence status and who are from countries or regions with diplomatic links or other ties to Japan, sources said Monday. They include South Korea, which has diplomatic ties, and Taiwan, which lacks diplomatic links but has a strong…
-
·
Bill eyed to give vote to foreigners
The Diet affairs chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan said Friday that DPJ lawmakers were planning to introduce a bill to grant foreign nationals with permanent resident status the right to vote in local elections. Kenji Yamaoka also said the current extraordinary Diet session may have to be extended beyond its scheduled end…