Japan’s immigration policies in a social and economic context
Author: Gen Pullin, The Australian National University
Introduction
Japan’s immigration policy and its accompanying discourse has far reaching implications for Japan and the surrounding region. It has the potential to impact Japan’s economy, its social environment, as well as the international political climate. Japan also faces significant issues regarding its ageing population and stagnating economy, both of which will further deteriorate over time.
Immigration has the ability to limit the negative effects of these issues, by contributing to the workforce in understaffed areas, stimulating the economy, and improving the reputation of Japan globally. Japanese immigration policy has evolved considerably in recent decades, with the implementation of initiatives such as the Technical Intern Trainee Program (TITP), and various other legislative agreements. These progressions have had differing degrees of effectiveness, often facing international and domestic backlash due to poor implementation and domestic resistance to increased immigration.
Historically, Japanese immigration policy has been restricted, with changes happening on an incremental and often clandestine basis. These incremental changes have, however, amalgamated into an immigration policy that is vastly different to what it was 30 years ago. In 2018 the Japanese government stated there were approximately 1.46 million foreign workers in Japan,[1] as opposed to the 0.94 million in 1988.[2] Whilst public rhetoric remains resistant to changes in immigration policy, the Japanese government has allowed foreign workers with diverse skill levels into the country. Examples of this include the 1983 ‘Plan to Accept 100,000 Foreign Students,’ being expanded to 300,000 in 2008.[3] A landmark case was the TITP, introduced in 1993, which was initially developed to help developing countries gain skills via training individuals in Japan.[4] The Specific Skilled Worker Visa, implemented in 2019,[5] is another major policy change[6] that facilitated an increase in foreign workers, due to industrial labour shortages.[7] As such, most immigrants to Japan have historically been highly skilled as these workers face the lowest levels of public resistance,[8] and thus the government used this opportunity to create more ways for them to enter.
Policy reforms over the last 30 years are attributed to increasingly prominent effects of Japan’s shrinking and ageing population. Business closures due to labour shortages increased by up to 290% in the first half of 2017, compared to 4 years prior,[9] and the expansion of child and elder care services made the lack of Japanese-born workers more keenly felt.[10] These and many other factors, both economic and social, have been steering Japan in the direction of a more open immigration policy.[11] As concerns about international terrorism and other public security threats increase, Japan is also being driven to tighten immigration controls.[12] It is between these two contradictory paths that the Japanese government must find balance, in order to implement effective and useful immigration policy.
Immigration and Japanese Labour Shortages
The current economic and societal situation in Japan is not sustainable without stronger immigration reform.[13] Immigration has the ability to boost economic growth in many integral ways. It can stimulate the Japanese economy by contributing to the lack of childcare services in Japan, thereby allowing mothers an earlier return to work. Thus in theory the amount of women able to work full-time should increase, and more women should be able to rise up the corporate hierarchy.[14] This could also allow an evolution in working habits, including shorter hours.[15] Migrant workers will also support the growing elderly population in Japan, that is quickly becoming too much for the shrinking younger generation, as demand for aged care workers is anticipated to exceed those available by 370,000 carers in 2025.[16] Accepting foreign resources is crucial in a rapidly globalising world, and in doing so, Japan gains economic strength as a nation.[17]
An increase in workforce engagement by Japanese women and the elderly would arguably be Japan’s first choice in combatting the labour shortages. However, there exist deeply entrenched gender norms and prejudices in Japanese society, which includes one’s dedication to the workplace, the inability for women to climb the corporate ladder if they have children, and the emphasis on women as the primary caregiver at home.[18] These norms must be addressed for any long-term change to be possible, and immigration reform is an effective short-term solution for the current labour shortages and economic stagnation in Japan.
Immigration reform may also lessen the “insular mindset” of many domestic Japanese communities. Fresh perspectives brought by immigrants may encourage Japanese people, the youth in particular, to engage in “friendly competition” with foreign workers and spur an increase in Japanese entrepreneurship.[19] This would likely strengthen the economy, and “reverse its declining competitiveness in the global economy.”[20]
The Technical Intern Trainee Program (TITP), the aid programme introduced in 1993 to train workers from developing countries in various areas, while effective in fulfilling its original purpose, has been unable to combat current labour shortages.[21] For example, as the official purpose of this programme was transferring skills and technology, participants were not allowed to undertake lower-skilled jobs. Consequently, the TITP has been unable to solve labour shortage issues in low-skilled industries such as hospitality and retail service sectors who have been voicing their need for more workers since 2017.[22] It is therefore necessary to broaden the TITP programme so it may be more effective in addressing sector-specific labour shortages.
Yuri Okina suggests that Japan should develop a framework that has the purpose of revising and improving the immigration policy as it is implemented.[23] A similar concept was suggested by Kazuaki Tezuka in 2005, who recognised the necessity of a specific organisational agency that focusses on investigating and advising policy reforms for immigration.[24] The establishment of Okina’s alluded to “Immigration Control Agency”[25] should ideally fulfil this position. Such an agency would monitor areas with the most pronounced labour shortage concerns and allocate the necessary numbers and types of workers. Okina also asserts that it improves the supervision system of foreign workers is crucial in helping mitigate the instances of worker exploitation and mistreatment.[26]
The Need for Cultural Change
Japanese society has a “strong perception of ethnic and cultural homogeneity.”[27] A side effect of this is that there is an attitude within the Japanese population that migrants, especially unauthorised migrants, contribute to a rising crime rate and overall decline in public security.[28]
Tezuka found that while a higher proportion of foreigners, particularly juveniles, may commit petty crimes, this is more often a result of miscommunication, poor language skills, and poor school engagement.[29] In fact, the dropout rate of foreign children is as high as 50% in some areas, as they cannot keep up in class due to insufficient language abilities, with scarce opportunities to improve them.[30] The Japanese language is a crucial component to daily living in Japan, but opportunities to learn it are often decentralised, and 60% of teachers are volunteers, and elderly. Further to this, there exists no uniform Japanese language curriculum or set of teaching standards or qualifications.[31] Steps must be taken to centralise the language learning process, and integration programmes must be incentivised to create an productive working environment for foreign workers in Japan.
Integration programmes are an aspect of Japanese immigration policy-making that is crucial in limiting many of the perceived negative effects of increasing the number of foreign workers allowed into Japan. Given that Japan is a largely homogenous society, and the idea of the ‘other’ is not widely accepted, it is integral that new immigrants are given the opportunity to, or are otherwise made to participate in such programs.
Despite, Japan’s image as a relatively closed country to immigration is in fact not an entirely accurate depiction of its actual immigration policy.[32] The Japanese government tends to avoid public debate on the matter, and implements changes without drawing attention to them so as to prevent politicisation. However, this strategy has caused its own problems. The lack of information available to the Japanese public feeds anti-immigration stigma, and means the general public are often unable to contribute to policy changes in any meaningful way.[33] The government’s decision to not officially allow foreign workers also increases the likelihood of people working and staying in the country illegally.[34] This only serves to increase the possibility of exploitation of foreign workers, and also further cement the negative Japanese perception of them.
In contrast, the Republic of Korea faced a similar increase in foreign workers entering the country, but followed a more top-down approach, with the government implementing integration policies, rather than municipalities,[35] which has resulted in much more evenly distributed integration efforts.
Rebranding Japan Internationally
Immigration policy reform is also crucial for reshaping Japan’s global image. This includes addressing the lack of international awareness in Japanese companies and individuals, alongside promoting Japan as an attractive destination for foreign workers. Japan has a global image is one of an “exclusive society” due to its history of discrimination against women and foreigners,[36] and is one of the only developed countries without an anti-discrimination law.[37]
Exploitation and abuse of workers entering Japan under the TITP has also negatively affected Japan’s image as a nation that treats immigrants appropriately, and reform is needed here to repair the damage done.[38] Other factors include the lack of labour flexibility in the labour due primarily to the lifetime employment norm and the pension system. The tendency of Japanese companies to adhere to the lifetime employment trend means that it is much harder to change jobs in Japan, as there is less financial incentive to do so as the longer you remain in one company the more you are paid. Therefore, the demand for labour drops considerably after the ages of 35-40.[39] The pension system in Japan also requires one to stay and/or work in Japan for at least 25 years in order to qualify for retirement benefits. This deters most short-term workers as they will only receive a small pension if they leave before the 25 year mark, often resulting in a net loss.[40]
Japanese corporations are not globally oriented and have limited interest in changing their practices to employ foreign professionals.[41] This is due to, and in turn causes, a limited global perspective. As a result, Japan needs to work on addressing these attitudes in conjunction with immigration reform, as even if immigration is increased, people will not want to work in Japan if it retains its undesirable image.
The Need for Immigration Reform
Immigration reform faces a number of obstacles. These include lacking domestic support and an unwelcoming global image that dissuades foreign workers. To combat this, great attention must be afforded to the implementation of integrative programmes programs that allow foreign to become more comfortable, and for foreigners to be more exposed to Japanese culture in a less confronting way. In addition to this, international programs aimed at improving Japan’s image as an immigration destination are crucial in overcoming the negative image that past policy failures have helped create.
Some say immigration policy reform is a waste of time and political capital, that the resources needed to fix Japan’s economic issues lie within its borders already, in the form of mobilising elderly and female working populations. However, the mobilisation of female and elderly population is near impossible without the utilisation of foreign workers, who are able to provide more affordable and accessible child and aged care. In addition, whilst various normative aspects needs to be addressed in the Japanese workplace, this is a long process, and immigration is a suitable short-term solution at minimum.
Japan needs to develop a regulated immigration policy, otherwise immigrants will continue to be exploited by unsupervised companies. Illegal work will also remain prevalent, and more foreign nationals will attempt to stay in Japan illegally, continuing to negatively impact the views of native Japanese on the presence of foreign workers. Social, economic, and even political diversity and stimulation is contingent upon access to foreign perspectives. Thus, considerable effort must be put into the development of a more top down approach to immigration policy, to avoid the stagnation of the economy and encourage diversity. With comprehensive regulatory policies, the Japanese government may limit the drawbacks of previously insufficient immigration programs. These far reaching implications are the reason that immigration policy is the most important reform facing Japanese policy-makers today and in the near future.