New law holds government responsible for teaching Japanese to all foreign residents
The legislation places the onus for providing learning opportunities on the state but does not contain any concrete measures to fund.
U.S. State Department keeps Japan on top tier of human trafficking list for second year
Japan remained in a group of countries the United States judges to fully meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, according to a State Department report released Thursday. The department placed Japan in Tier 1, the highest classification on the four-tier list, for ...
Few Japanese firms plan to hire foreign workers under new immigration law, poll suggests
The survey suggests the government may struggle to get the workers it needs to ease the country’s labor woes.
Chinese trainee on Japan's technical intern program gets suspended prison term for abandoning baby
A 22-year-old Chinese trainee in the technical intern program was given a suspended prison term for abandoning her newborn son last December for fear of being sent back home.
Japanese government seeks public comment on plan to bring foreign trainees into hotel sector
The government on Thursday started soliciting public comments over its plan to allow foreign nationals who come to Japan under the government-sponsored Technical Intern Training Program to work directly for hotels for up to five years, officials said. Those workers could eventually apply for a ...
In labor-starved Japan, Aomori farm pins hopes on Vietnamese student workers
A garlic and apple farm in the northeast of the country has recognized that its survival largely depends on finding the next generation of workers to replace the aging local population. That is why Aomori Japan Farm Co. is keen on training a group of ...
Japan grants first work permits under new blue-collar visa system to address labor crunch
Two permits were issued and similar visas are in the works for another 45 applicants engaged mainly in agriculture.
As Japan's banks snub personal stamps, hanko makers pin hopes on growing foreign population
With Japan's foreign population expected to grow in light of the new visa statuses introduced this month, makers of hanko (personal seals) see a new opportunity for business. The traditional seals are still required to conduct various kinds of transactions in Japan, from purchasing cars ...
A disturbing new report shows once again how badly the foreign trainee program needs major fixes.
Probe reveals 759 cases of suspected abuse and 171 deaths of foreign trainees in Japan
The Justice Ministry’s probe into the Technical Intern Training Program confirms growing concerns about a link between the trainees’ working conditions and their growing disappearances from companies.
Vietnamese nun in Tokyo prays for compatriots who lost lives at work in Japan, fearing more to come
Rows of wooden mortuary tablets inscribed with names line an altar at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo — silent testimony to Vietnamese people who died after coming to Japan to work or study. "Whenever I am contacted about a death, I can speak only two ...
