LDP wants to attract foreign workers for Japan's financial sector

Japan's high taxes cost of living endless regulations glacier speed to accept new changes and inconvenience to regional travel are among many reasons foreign financial fled in the first place.

Does Carlos Gohn ring any bells?

Carlos Ghosn case..

That said,mentality that this is a gaijin and doesn't understand Japanese culture even when non is whatsoever required in that particular situation has to change.

Good luck in attracting them to fill in the dwindling tax and pension vaccum.

High skill workers are generally well educated, well informed and can earn way more elsewhere, lifestyle and the expectation of being thrown away at a whim not the most attractive environment to lure these people. And as far as a career path goes....not going to happen.

I worked with foreign financials from 1989 to 2007 Lehman, MS, Goldman, ML, etc. all had similar complaints including any technology or other biz changes had to be submitted to FSA in written Japanese, their response was so achingly slow, by the time they'd made a decision on initial submissions technology had evolved so they'd have to apply all over again. Japan's methods of doing business are too slow to keep up with modern fast paced changes and to be fair technology changes may be too fast too.

"LDP wants to attract foreign workers for Japan's financial sector"

I assume this means the LDP wants to get more foreigners working for domestic Japanese investment banking firms and other financial services companies in Tokyo. E.g. Nomura Holdings, MUFG, Mizuho, etc.

Well good luck with that. Virtually all the foreigners I've known who worked in finance in Tokyo were employed by the gaishikei, e.g. Bank of America, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, etc. The perceived gap in quality of workplace environment between Japanese and non-Japanese financial firms in Tokyo has always been huge. A fluent English speaker with an economics degree from a top university in Europe, North America, or Australia/Singapore isn't dreaming of working at Mizuho.

Abe the dreamer as usual. Why would people want to move from Hong Kong to Tokyo and downgrade their lifestyle. Singapore, Taipei and Seoul are much more attractive propositions. The only plus I saw in Tokyo were dating lots of women, but even then, that’s if you managed to escape from the long working hours.

Ran major US and EURO brokers in Tokyo in 1990-2010. FSA and SEFC made sure we could not

make money. Chased out CITIBANK and others.

If they really want to attract foreign workers they need to make them exempt from the pension scam. It works out to be an extra 15% tax for foreigners coz they’ll never see a single yen of their entitlement.

Apparently truth and facts are too confronting for JT moderators so let me try to reword my removed comment:

Encouragement of global talent to work in Japan will fail because Japanese companies (probably even international companies with an office in Japan) can't adjust their policies to compete with overseas institutions. For example, adhoc performance-based salary increases.

Why would a financial professional leave a 15% tax rate for a 50% tax rate?

And as far as a career path goes....not going to happen

Thats very true, not even a glass ceiling but a steel reinforced concrete one. Ive been told by Japanese that most Japanese do not want to work for a foreigner. I think the feudal times mentality has not really changed that much in Japan. Most of the workers here seem to be in peasant mode; few have any dreams or aspirations to have a business or become a boss. Foreigners are just like means to and end, everything is run like an Army. Ive often felt like a captured POW, working for the cause.

I bet most of the foreign workers in Japanese white collar jobs will be either Chinese, or Vietnamese. I am speaking about the Japanese-run financial firms whose performance has been stagnant and horrible for decades. Chinese and Vietnam white collar workers have more patience than any Westerner at working among the bureaucratic oyajis. I personally knew many Vietnamese and Chinese engineers, white collar jobs at SME manufacturing firms, who complained in close doors that the Japanese oyajis are lazy as hell. Foreign people have to all the hard works, while the Japanese seniors sit and drink tea. When the Vietnamese or Chinese engineer learned all the tricks before the course ends, they have to pretend studying not to damage the pride of those Japanese teachers. If Westerners of high education and prestige work in Japanese financial firms, they won't stay very long.

I bet most of the foreign workers in Japanese white collar jobs will be either Chinese, or Vietnamese

Why not Syrians and Nigerians?

Apparently it is easier to dream of enslaving others than engaging in meaningful policy & initiatives to shape domestic policy & culture & solve your own problems with your own intelligence & sweat off your own (Japanese) brow.

I bet most of the foreign workers in Japanese white collar jobs will be either Chinese, or Vietnamese...

Ive noticed that as well, with the recent immigration crowd being mostly from Vietnam. None of the ones I have talked to seemed happy, but my sample size was small. I met one guy, working in this recycle shop, behind a park area. Just sitting there cleaning microwave ovens. He said he was an engineer, and he got an "engineer" job,cleaning appliances.

Wonderful.

Later this year, I will be back to the UK and ready to diversify my asset base.

One of the opportunities I am considering is linked to the growing diaspora Of Hong Kong relocating.

Japan cannot compete with other first world countries in order to make their ‘welcome’ attaractive enough to talented immigrants.

It is a massive loss for this country...

Why not Syrians and Nigerians?

Their skills aren't high enough, and they aren't Asian enough. Asians stick with asians. Vietnamese will probably be favored more than Chinese due to the Japan-Vietnam relations has been very friendly since medieval times, and Sinophobia that both countries share. There are many Vietnamese professors and businesspeople working for Japan for a long time. Since the Taisho-Showa era.

Vietnamese is only second to the Chinese, in term of residency and experience in Japan.

Ive noticed that as well, with the recent immigration crowd being mostly from Vietnam. None of the ones I have talked to seemed happy, but my sample size was small. I met one guy, working in this recycle shop, behind a park area. Just sitting there cleaning microwave ovens. He said he was an engineer, and he got an "engineer" job,cleaning appliances.

9 out of 10 Vietnamese people, who went Japan for jobs, do not like it is there. Because of crushing hours, repetitive jobs, lazy and harsh bosses, workplace inefficiency. 95% of the Vietnamese workers only stay there temporarily, and they will go back to Vietnam to earn an upper middle class through building new businesses or working for big companies with international demands. The more successful ones will build a business in Japan, and climb up in the Japanese social ladder. Most of these people will be professors, business owners, CEOs, financial experts and other white collar positions. However, all of them do not believe in Japan as a place of permanent residency, so they will go back and forth between Vietnam and Japan. These people will build up real, profitable businesses or invest important assets in Vietnam. Japan has been leaking and losing a huge amount of money for this type of remittance investments. The Chinese has done this for a long time but now it is the Vietnamese replacing the Chinese.

Even most successful Chinese people left Japan a little bit before 2008 Recession, then I would expect the same thing will happen with the Vietnamese in a coming future. Most Vietnamese now seek new opportunities in their own home country. Or finding a job in the West and gaining an easy permanent residency there (like UK). If Japan does not change its way of thinking, even the most supportive sources of foreign labor, Chinese and Vietnamese, will go away.

Japanese company, no thank you.

You will be sucked of all the youthful energy and productivity and then dumped or frustrated in your forties or fifties at which time you realize you can't compete internationally from lack of confidence and it will dawn on you that you had wasted your most productive years in return for nothing.

This country can only attract workers when Japanese stop thinking , they are superior to others because they are japanese. BE FAIR and communicate with international heart and mind.

@Xeno Man

Their skills aren't high enough, 

The Nigerians are known as "the Jews of Africa," with a strong enterprising spirit and adept at financial transactions. Syrians are known for their entrepreneurial character and work ethic.

they aren't Asian enough. 

Raced-based immigration policies are totally unacceptable in the eyes of the global community, especially for an OECD country. So, bring on the Nigerians and Syrians!

Raced-based immigration policies are totally unacceptable in the eyes of the global community, especially for an OECD country. So, bring on the Nigerians and Syrians!

Vietnamese and Chinese government already secured a worker deal with the J-govt. The rising trend of Vietnamese and Chinese workers in Japan has been always due to politics. We as outsiders can't change the political decision. Nigerians, Syrians and many other people aren't secured or negotiated by any political entity.