Impoverished foreign students fall into life of crime

Why the focus on Vietnamese? And why just complain about theft? Any night of the week In Hachioji you can readily find Chinese prostitutes (I'm betting they're not documented) soliciting potential customers. Aren't prostitution and immigration infractions crimes?

Japan Today should be ashamed of reporting cr@p like this. It just reinforces the Japanese idea that all foreigners are dangerous and dishonest. I'd like to see the crime figures for impoverished Japanese students - I suspect that the figures are higher. Japan has trouble recruiting foreign students because their education system is so awful and they treat foreign students so badly. Why didn't you just headline the article 'Immigration is Bad' or 'Beware of Non-Japanese'?

Why the focus on Vietnamese?

Because of the numbers:

Of the above, 691 offenders were Vietnamese nationals, a year-on-year increase of more than 20%. More than 20% of all foreign offenders charged with theft were Vietnamese, who also accounted for roughly half the number of shoplifting cases.

This is a racist article ....

The Vietnamese are among the most entrepreneurial people on Earth, with every member of society working on some money-making scheme or another. Unfortunately, they don't heed or appreciate the legal details in developed countries, and so you end up with widespread criminal behavior.

Right near the Vietnamese Airlines office in HCMC, you'll find retailers stocked to the brim with Japanese products. They were all stolen in or smuggled from Japan....by VA cabin attendants.

How do you know that Jeff?

Sorry, but let's be honest, most of these language schools should be shut down for the student's own sake. Many of these people are clearly coming here with the intention of working and are being exploited at every turn. Japanese language schools should instead open up in Vietnam and see how many students are actually interested in studying Japanese when there is no prospect of employment involved.

By the way, I googled the goat story because I thought it was genuinely to ridiculous to be true... but it's true.

Of course, the irony in all of this is that if Japan had opened up in the 80s and 90s, it could have had the cream of the crop of Chinese graduates from Beijing University. Now, I doubt any top graduates from China would even consider moving to Japan.

"How do you know that Jeff?"

Because i have had personal acquaintances with a few of the players. One of whom actually spent time in jail at Narita for a couple of weeks recently after failing to report the fact he was carrying a ton of cash and gold. He is a white-collar employee of a respectable Japanese company, too.

My other acquaintances also do scams, mainly unlicensed export-import, but haven't been caught yet...to my knowledge.

All the writer of this article has to do is go to any Don Quxoite in the wee hours of the morning, and they will see more than their fair share of potential criminals based on the criteria they set (poor students). Not all crimes are committed by foreigners in Japan. And regardless of the numbers, there still will be more Japanese committing the crimes simply based on the population.

Of course, the irony in all of this is that if Japan had opened up in the 80s and 90s, it could have had the cream of the crop of Chinese graduates from Beijing University.

That is based on the assumption that Chinese in the 80s and 90s could easily obtain a passport and enough foreign currency to tide them over; in most cases they could not. After the Tiananmen incident Chinese did start coming to Japan in ever-greater numbers, but few, if any, could be described as "cream of the crop."

This article lumps together students and trainees. Trainees are completely different from students. Usually, they do little actual training. Most are basically imported slave labour. There may be a minimum wage, but trainees do not necessarily receive it. Trainees do not have to be paid even the minimum wage. From what little they are paid many deductions are often made, such as accomodation and maybe paying back a loan for an advance for transport to Japan and agent fees. Blame has to be laid on Japanese who exploit foreigners from less developed countries.

I noticed a comment on Chinese prostitutes. Are their customers Chinese, too? I suspect most of their customers are Japanese. Why not criticise these Japanese who in effect pay the Chinese to break the law?

It is also possible that Abenomics is partly responsible. Some of these people may be doing their best to repay a debt incurred in another currency with considerably devalued yen. If there were 100 yen to the dollar when they borrowed money to come here, their debt will have increased considerably. If they borrowed at a high interest rate when there were 70 yen to the dollar, they would have got in a really bad situation.

It would also be interesting to know how the increase of crime in this group compares with other groups such as old Japanese people. I seem to remember Japantoday not log ago had an article on the increase in crime in older Japanese.

JT is performing a valuable service by letting its readers see points of view they would not otherwise encounter. Furthermore the tone seems to be sympathetic to Vietnamese, who are clearly being exploited by the system of attracting foreign students to fill Japan's "3K" job market.

Of course, the irony in all of this is that if Japan had opened up in the 80s and 90s, it could have had the cream of the crop of Chinese graduates from Beijing University. Now, I doubt any top graduates from China would even consider moving to Japan.

@M3M3M3

For the most part, these government-approved education/training schemes (scams) are designed NOT to attract the cream of the crop. Essentially, the schemes are employment programs masquerading as training, designed to win politicians points with small- and medium-sized companies that need low-cost, exploitable labor. Go to any Japanese low-priced chain eatery such as Yoshinoya and you will see at least one of these 'students' from East/Southeast Asia.

Keeping these workers in illegal employment arrangements, and keeping them in debt to shady organizations that make their arrangements for staying in Japan, ensures that they will keep quiet in the face of labor abuses. Especially with Japan's aging society, the government is seeking sources of young, low-cost, hard-working, expendable, revolving-door labor to address the chronic shortage of workers in the sub-1,000 yen-per-hour wage scale.

Many Mexican laborers face a similar situation in the U.S. Those hiring illegal immigrants would rather that they stay illegal because it puts the balance of power clearly in the hands of employers who rarely even get a slap on the wrist for hiring undocumented workers.

A lot of these Vietnamese kids will have been forced into a life of crime by Vietnamese gangs who unlike Japanese gangs have the ability to threaten the kids family back in Vietnam. Greater awareness of these scams and the police shutting them down will only increase opportunities for vulnerable immigrants.

@gaijintraveller

Spot on! You just describe in a nutshell many industries in Japan dependent on foreign workers!

This article lumps together students and trainees. Trainees are completely different from students. Usually, they do little actual training. Most are basically imported slave labour. There may be a minimum wage, but trainees do not necessarily receive it. Trainees do not have to be paid even the minimum wage. From what little they are paid many deductions are often made, such as accomodation and maybe paying back a loan for an advance for transport to Japan and agent fees. Blame has to be laid on Japanese who exploit foreigners from less developed countries.

For example, if you changed "Trainees" with "Eikaiwa teachers", we wouldn't be able to see much difference. A major problem is the society doesn't care. This society views people from other Asian countries as inferior to basically boost their own self esteem. It is fueled by the false equivalent that uniqueness equals superiority. Especially those countries they invaded during the war.

It had been reported earlier in 2014 that flight attendants on Vietnam’s national carrier had been discovered carrying back big bundles of Uniqlo merchandise for resale in Vietnam,

Japanese goods are very popular in Vietnam. During my recent my visit to Saigon, Sapporo Beer is the best selling brand there. Sapporo brewery is employing and training locals and paying tax to Vietnam. It is win win for Japanese companies and Vietnamese students. Instead of Vietnamese students coming to high cost nation Japan, Japanese Inc should follow Sapporo foot steps for setting up shops in Vietnam.

For example, if you changed "Trainees" with "Eikaiwa teachers", we wouldn't be able to see much difference.

Are you kidding? Eikaiwa teachers make several times what a typical "trainee" makes, while working fewer hours. They get regular breaks, often get at least partly subsidized housing, as well as transportation. The state of the eikaiwa industry may have serious issues, but it's ridiculous to pretend it can be remotely comparable to what trainees go through.

@katsu78

Are you kidding? Eikaiwa teachers make several times what a typical "trainee" makes, while working fewer hours. They get regular breaks, often get at least partly subsidized housing, as well as transportation. The state of the eikaiwa industry may have serious issues, but it's ridiculous to pretend it can be remotely comparable to what trainees go through.

I'm not sure what eikaiwa you've dealt with, but this is largely not the case. I know at least two of the big chains do not pay the following:

Transportation Bi-annual bonuses Sick pay Holiday pay Healthcare contributions Pension contributions

I'd say they're pretty comparable! It may look like more money on paper, but after all the deductions (which the teacher has to cover themselves - even down to stationery!), it's about the same money - or less. These eikaiwa schools get away with daylight robbery... They also promise incremental pay increases based on performance, but these are a giant smoke screen as the numbers are simply unachievable or unattainable. People in the industry will know what I'm talking about. Any other country and they'd be up to their eyeballs in litigation...

I agree

unachievable or unattainable

Sorry, that should've read unsustainable. If the delightful folk of JT would kindly add a long-overdue edit button...

@sighclops

If your employer isn't making the payments they're required to by law, go to the labor board. They have a multilingual assistance line.

Or you can go to hellowork, and they'll take care of you.

While you're there, you can check out the job listings and see for yourself what trainees are being paid in other industries. 150,000 - 180,000 starting pay is pretty much normal across the board outside of Tokyo and Osaka, unless you're highly skilled. Nurses start around 180-200,000.

Might not be much in the big cities, but the standard 250,000/month even after deductions is a fair bit more than most people in their 20s are making.

Foreigner fearing xenophobia rears it's ugly head again. Language school visa abuse is common in most countries, only other countries have started to crack down - withdrawing visas and closing schools. Maybe requiring all applicants to have the money in the bank for tuition and living expenses before issuing a visa would be a start. Banning the use of brokers too - they are just scammers. But why bother when this all gives the xenophobes a handy stick with which to beat all foreigners.

The problem is that Japan is hardly prepared for such an influx of foreign students. PM Abe is showing himself, once again, reckless in his desire for rapid "globalization" (or, at least, what he understands it to be) completely ignoring the true situation of Japanese universities: under-funded, grossly behind their Western-world counterparts in terms of research results, and writhed with faculty members who are in majority opposed to welcoming more international students (who can't speak Japanese as well as their Japanese classmates, and who will definitely challenge the authority of the professors in ways unheard of in Japan). Moreover, the idea that these students, once they graduate, will contribute to the strengthening of Japan's relations with their home countries is a pipe-dream, if major changes are not set in place. The overwhelming majority of foreign students in Japan today come from East and South-East Asian countries, and most are desperately poor, hoping not to return to their countries after graduation, but to get an economics, medicine or law degree and pursue lucrative careers in Japan. Until PM Abe's cabinet won't find a way to push for a true opening of Japanese universities to the world, that situation is bound not to change significantly.

More hysterical nonsense. According to the article, the number of Vietnamese students increased from 15000 to 28000 (87%), but the number of Vietnamese brought to trial increased by 20%. This means that the crime rate must be falling amongst Vietnamese students.

The police, government and media in Japan use all manner of tricks, deceit and lies to justify the official line that foreigners are criminals and cannot be trusted. Foreigners commit fewer crimes than Japanese and the crime rate among the non-Japanese population is lower.

@sighclops

I'm not sure what eikaiwa you've dealt with, but this is largely not the case. I know at least two of the big chains do not pay the following:

You've provided a list of reasons why eikaiwa is kind of a crappy, dead-end job. I don't disagree. I did my time and I'm happy to be out myself. But that's nothing like what "trainees" have to go through, if for no other reason than eikaiwa actually is a job and is therefore bound by Japanese labor laws. "Trainees" don't have it so good.

I'd say they're pretty comparable! It may look like more money on paper, but after all the deductions (which the teacher has to cover themselves - even down to stationery!), it's about the same money - or less.

Not even close. In my stint at a major eikaiwa chain making their minimum wage, I made more than double this article's example 950 yen/hour wage for trainees. Now that doesn't mean what I was making was good money- it was pretty disappointing. But it was disappointing in a "I might not be able to travel home and visit my family while maintaining a lifestyle that includes eating at restaurants and socializing at bars" sort of way. That's not really comparable to "trainee" positions being disappointing in an "I should consider turning to crime in order to eat this month."

Almost none of us have to go into debt to enter an eikaiwa- at worst an eikaiwa employee might owe a little for plane tickets or the deposit + key money on their apartment. Now that's bad, but that's no where near as bad as trainees' families going into bankruptcy just to get them into the country.

I've got no problems with people criticizing the eikaiwa industry. I'm definitely a critic of practices of the industry myself. But to pretend that the way we foreigners from western countries get treated in white-collar work requiring an educated background is remotely comparable to how these trainees get exploited for labor is just arrogance, in my opinion. If we want to see positive change in Japan we should be supporting these trainees (at least so much as possible without supporting the ones who do turn to crime), not trying to co-opt discussion of their situation to turn the focus on our much less severe first-world problems. Otherwise, we just end up looking spoiled.

Well said. Eikaiwa may suck, but it's way better than being a foreign 'trainee'.

I'm not sure what eikaiwa you've dealt with, but this is largely not the case. I know at least two of the big chains do not pay the following:

As if the 'industry' itself and the employees deserve such prilividges. It's amazing that some people still don't get the fact that their basically dime of dozen whose only attribute is basically speaking the language they grew up with. katsu 78 is absolutely correct in 'looking spoiled' aspect.

And let's not get carried away for their exists 'students' who take advantage of this status by acting as a merchant as in the case of Chinese kenshusei who were buying up diapers and Iphones to send them back home, raking in profits, violating the terms of the visa.

For every system, there exists employers and 'students' who take advantage of them for their own selfish needs.

This article is not written for the intentions of racism, if anything, the fact that they pivoted to the testimony of some of criminals and their lack of money shows that poverty and lack of education is why these people turn to crime, it's not like, just because they are Vietnamese, they commit crimes, it's because they come from impoverished and uneducated backgrounds and the article points that out well

I had to pay my own way through university, and get by working full time for $3.35 an hour. I worked until midnight on weeknights, and all day on weekends. Needless to say my university study load in America was much heavier than those carried by students at Japanese unversities (let alone language schools) yet I managed to graduate with good marks, and not turn to crime or shoplifting. Money was tight, I often (usually) ate one meal per day, and bummed rides to school when there was no money for gas for my car.

I went to high school in the "Little Saigon" area in Souhthern California, one-third of my high school class was Vietnamese. For the most part they are hardworking and family-oriented, but there is a strong subculture of gangs and organized crime in the Vietnamese community as well. I don't know what kind of people are sent to Japan as students from Vietnam, but I wouldn't be shocked if organised crime was involved in some way or another, from loan sharks in Vietnam, the "brokers" who get students into Japan, or fencers who recruit them to steal.

Misleading article title considering it focused entirely on Vietnamese students. Until the crime situation is reduced, simply curb the number of visas available for students from certain countries.

I can understand that Japan doesn't want to become dependent on foreign workers in order to do their labor but if you're going to legally let someone in allow them to grow and prosper so that can become productive people in society.

You call them criminals but the people who employ them make them criminals with the low wages and the bad conditions.

You can't give someone nothing and expect them to make something. There are some people out there that can but it's very small percentage but the vast majority not at all.

Get with the times tell them exactly what they are getting into before allowing them to work. You'd be surprised.

Shame on Japanese government. Can't just take their money and offer no support thereafter. They need to establish support department which helps students with housing, securing part-time jobs, counseling & mentoring etc....Guess the hardship these students endure make it completely countereffective to what the government is trying to do, spread "good image" of Japan which is far from the reality. It's sad that Japanese government have no qualms about taking advantage of the lucrative part but always looks the other way when it has to face difficult choices and situations. This had to change.

CoconutE3, Japan supports foreign students more than for instance US govt does. National unversities have nice buildings exclusively for those students while Japanese students mostly live on its own. There are scholarship only for foreign students, but not enough for Japanese students. In USA, it is very rare you find any scholarship for non-citizen. Japanese students have to take the same entrance tests as American students, but in Japan foreign students take special tests. Japanese students have hardships both in Japan and USA

It seems to me that these people CLEARLY are NOT students, just cheap exploited labour.

It always amazes me to read about these "brokers" ..........wtf, why on earth are brokers involved what seems to be a majority of these slave, sorry cheap labour...........seriously messed up.

But Japan is willfully involved in this exploitation & has been shamefully for many years, I hate reading that these scams are still ongoing, seriously messed up

And for those trying to compare this to eikaiwa............get real, most "teachers" are here simply for a few years paid vacation, yeah its getting crappier but with the internet it shouldn't be news the eigo gigs are mostly crap, the 80s early 90s was a long time ago now!

@katsu78

But that's nothing like what "trainees" have to go through, if for no other reason than eikaiwa actually is a job and is therefore bound by Japanese labor laws. "Trainees" don't have it so good.

Point taken. It's by no means exploitation at its worst. However, what most people on here fail to realise is that the words 'job' and 'staff' are not applicable to this industry. You're basically 'invoiced' for a 'service', therefore circumventing all Japanese labor laws. You're also a contract-based worker, meaning that there's zero job security. Companies save upwards of 20% on their overheads by exploiting this loophole.

But to pretend that the way we foreigners from western countries get treated in white-collar work requiring an educated background is remotely comparable to how these trainees get exploited for labor is just arrogance, in my opinion.

I understand where you're coming from and I for one would be foolish to make such a comparison. I was referring more towards the rampant exploitation that goes on in both industries, as opposed to said working conditions. On an exploitation level, they are most certainly comparable. Certain big eikaiwa chains offer overseas recruitment, yet provide nothing in the way of guidance upon arrival in the country. They 'lock you in' as they know that you're here on their terms & the terms of your visa requirements.

@nigelboy

As if the 'industry' itself and the employees deserve such prilividges. It's amazing that some people still don't get the fact that their basically dime of dozen whose only attribute is basically speaking the language they grew up with.

Fair point, but who are we to comment on the credibility of an eikaiwa teaching job? I know workers at McDonald's who work in fairer conditions. Again, we could argue the quality of the jobs until the cows come home, but my point still stands that it's the exploitation that's comparable, not the line of work & aforementioned conditions. The only reason a lot of these eikaiwa chains are in business is because they employ an unsuspecting demographic, largely from abroad, who accept said exploitation as 'the norm'. They have no idea about how Japan works, nor its labor practices.

These businesses, along with the 'trainee' scammers, will continue to milk the system until real change is made. I'm a realist and know that this will never happen, though.

Fair point, but who are we to comment on the credibility of an eikaiwa teaching job? I know workers at McDonald's who work in fairer conditions

That's the point. Your 'job' is not worth the privileges that are even offered for those who flip burgers. Do you honestly believe that your 'skills' are worth of any value? Stop deluding yourself is the first step. Everything else will follow after that.

It seems to me that the program for having foreign students in Japan is oriented to rich kids who can afford to pay expensive universities and also complementary expensive language schools.

For those of poor origin, opportunities for a scholarships are scarce, for example, in my country, there are only scholarships through the government to study undergraduate, graduate, teachers and Japanese language students. You can´t find programs from the universities

As for the broker system, I find it extremely perverse, it is a scam making families go into debt, forcing youngsters to do crappy part-time jobs and trapped in Japan, covered in debts and having miserable lives.

I doubt it is only the Vietnamese, although it looks like they are the majority or the group most underprivileged. What I mean, I know that many people from Philippines would enter these programs but they are more protected than people from Vietnam, Thailand or other countries close to Japan

If the number of students is increasing by that much, but the crime rate among Vietnamese students is only increasing by 20% then that means overall bringing in more foreign students/trainees actually is reducing the crime rate. Which is almost always the case in any country. People go overseas to make a new life, and only a few are pushed into crime but the percentage of foreigners in any country committing crimes is almost always lower than the rate of people from that country, especially if you consider that (as is the case in Japan) most foreign committed crimes are visa related, not robbery, murder, arson, rape or any other much more serious crimes.

I think this is a very interesting article by Debito Arudou. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/07/08/issues/police-foreign-crime-wave-falsehoods-fuel-racism/

It throws light on the statistics. Debito explains how the police manipulate figures by using statistics for total crimes not crime rates and ingnoring the increase in the number of students. They also include "crimes" that Japanese never or rarely commit, such as overstaying, fake cellphone identification, fake marriages and so on.

I happen to notice their presence in my area, too. When I talked to one, he said he's not working only studying. and when I asked him how many yrs he had been to Japan, he said it's been 3 yrs. He doesn't look rich and when I started drinking my canned juice, he had that lingering look of wanting to drink too. (I maybe too perceptional, though.) I pitied him but that's all I can do. I understand some Jgovt scholars are receiving around 18 man a month with the understanding that they're going back to their home country when finished but most just don't. And they're never even required to pay back even if they don't follow their scholarship contracts. Unlike the Japanese who availed of student loans and still paying back even with 2 tots around.