Japan's Immigration Problem

◆Although Japan lags significantly behind Europe and North America in accepting foreign workers, there are now two million foreign residents living in Japan with 30% of these holding permanent resident status. While the government retains the outward stance that unskilled laborers will not be accepted, it is considering the adoption of a more positive stance as regards the acceptance of foreign workers needed by the construction industry. However, it is likely that Japan will soon run up against the limits of preserving a contradictory policy while expanding the number of foreign workers accepted in small increments. It is time to begin discussing what the best policy might be regarding the acceptance of foreign workers, and to base these arguments on objective fact.

◆In advanced nations where immigration plays an important role, such as Europe and North America, the acceptance of foreign workers has become an increasingly controversial topic. There is no lack of examples pointing to the challenges of creating a multicultural society, and this should be enough to signal the importance of initiating a discussion of Japan’s policy regarding the acceptance of foreign workers. For instance, the example of Germany, where a variety of social problems have developed in association with immigrants, shows that avoidance of dealing face to face with the problem of immigration can itself be the cause of problems. The absence of a policy could very well be a factor in the development of problems associated with immigration and foreign workers as well as their increasing seriousness. Japan has much to learn from the experiences of other countries when it comes to these problems.

◆In the case of highly skilled workers, competition has been heating up between the advanced nations to acquire more individuals in this category. One of the unfortunate consequences of this competition has been the brain drain that occurs in countries of origin when skilled professionals such as doctors, nurses, and teachers emigrate. This can lead to the deterioration of social infrastructure, and is detrimental to the local supply of skilled personnel. One way of avoiding this situation is for the advanced nation accepting skilled workers to take responsibility for the training of personnel in the country where said workers originate. For Japan, which is less competitive when it comes to attracting highly skilled workers, it is necessary to advance a policy whereby personnel are trained before being called upon to go there for work.

◆Another factor in this area is the importance of building and maintaining good relations with Asian countries. Japan has a high rate of dependence on Asian countries for the supply of workers (for all intents and purposes immigrants) and this is expected to remain unchanged in the future. At the same time, some of these countries are expected to follow in Japan’s footsteps in developing a falling birthrate, meaning that it will become increasingly difficult to attract younger people. This means that building and maintaining good relations with Asian countries while at the same time increasing competitiveness in acquiring foreign workers will become all the more important in the future.