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Taxi, bus driver's license tests in Japan to go multilingual
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sakurasuki
Really? But this is Japan, so the test will be in Japanese, that's usually common comment. If they do that then they are really desperate in getting foreign driver with low wage.
dagon
This reeks of desperation. The working conditions and remuneration are totally insufficient to attract local workers and many know self-driving tech is imminent. There is no future for the career, especially for those foreign drivers on working visas.
And can you imagine the media hubbub when the first foreign driver with insufficient language skills causes an accident?
sakurasuki
They'll repeat driver nationalities of the driver over and over again, even it is known those driver under long work hours. Truckers in Japan work 20% more than all industry average.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230519/p2a/00m/0na/019000c
Fighto!
Lots of Thai and SE Asian tuk-tuk drivers would give anything to obtain a visa to live in Japan and work as professional taxi or bus drivers. They are probably the target workers in this sector for the new visa.
Rakuraku
Yes there is desperation.
The country will not be able to work properly in many sectors without sufficient immigration. The working population is shrinking just too fast.
Japanese will have to choose between no service at all or service by a foreigner at least in the short term. Longer term advance of robotization and IA may change things.
リッチ
Yo allow for cheap foreign labour to take over? Allowing companies to have even higher profits from some of the most expensive transport options out there.
obladi
Japan's population is declining and the rate of decline in increasing. In particular, the fraction of working-age Japanese is decreasing. Therefore, immigration is increasing to fill the labor shortage.
Driving a taxi or a truck does not require a college education. Therefore, many of the foreigners who can perform these jobs are unlikely to speak Japanese.
Changing the test is just a realistic way of balancing these two realities.
tora
I think it should remain in Japanese. If drivers can't do it in Japanese (it's not difficult Japanese), then they obviously are going to struggle with communicating in Japanese on/off the job. There is a lot more writing required than they might imagine. Dealing with city office/taxes for example.
This is shortsighted policy that will backfire as soon as the first foreign driver has a serious accident/misunderstanding that puts people's lives in danger.
HopeSpringsEternal
Depopulation's real as is aging, easiest remedy is more foreigners. Japan's population excluding migrants, dropping 3K per day and accelerating with aging and new co-morbidity factors like Corona infection etc.
deanzaZZR
Your claim is that Japanese is easy to read?
kurisupisu
These foreign drivers will be taking groups of workers of their own nationality to and from factories, hotels and dormitories.
Thinking that there’ll be a major replacement of foreigners serving Japanese customers is way off base.
Speed
It's about time. They've been doing this in the US for at least 50 years.
owzer
Yah, well the US gives licenses to, how shall we put it, people without legal status, so the US isn't exactly a role model at all times.
GuruMick
""South East Asian Tuk Tuk drivers " are the targeted sector ? {Poster above.... dont want to shame him by naming him }
Somehow I dont think they would have the experience to drive a big truck on a fast paced expressway.
But then again, maybe if a shortage of surgeons occurs in Japan we could import the people who slice up chickens at a Thai night market.
Keeping all options open can only be a good thing.
Fighto!
@ Guru Mick - they are not going to attract college graduates to this type of job. Thais, Vietnamese, Filipino transport drivers etc are presumably the target for these jobs.
As I have mentioned many times, though, if these taxi and transport companies upped the salaries, millions of Japanese on the sidelines would flock back to the workforce. There actually is no "Labor shortage" in Japan.
didou
The advantage of having foreign drivers is that they will put your luggage in the trunk, which 80% of local drivers don’t
Futaro Gamagori
Try to see the brighter side of things sometimes
It's not that bad
kurisupisu
I know a Thai involved in high level phone app programming and she has chosen to live in the US for the high standard of living and opportunities that are possible.
She would no more consider living in Japan than going back to her own country with its myriad problems.
I’m sure that Japan will attract enough to fill some jobs but it won’t be attracting ‘talent’
indigo
then , make court multilingual as well.
Fighto!
Japan is NOT trying to attract educated, college/university types.
Japan is trying to attract professional drivers - tuk-tuk, jeepney, taxi, bus and truck drivers as a stop-gap to fill roles.
And it will only be short term - 3-5 years - until most of these jobs are taken by driverless tech.
GuruMick
Tuk Tuk drivers ?
And you're serious ?
Must be "upside down world day "
Mr Kipling
So they lied about the self driving buses and taxis?
Lindsay
Not really much point. As soon as you get out of the city any multilingualism stops. If you can’t read kanji you’ll be driving around in circles. It’s highly unlikely the bus or taxi company will pay for multilingual software for their navigation systems either. Making the test multilingual is only part of what they need to do.
Desert Tortoise
I'v driven extensively in foreign countries where the language was a mystery compounded by a lack of signage. Or you think about a city like London where the street signs are on the sides of buildings where they are not easily seen by the motorcycle rider riding the center line with the dispatch riders. Abroad I navigate using a map, remembering what the next turn looks like and navigating much like one would using a map and compass overland. I reference buildings, certain roundabouts, monuments, where there are bridges etc and have managed to successfully navigate cities like Manila, London and to a degree Shanghai that way. I also imagine these drivers will have a multi lingual GPS to use. I have never used one buy my wife uses a Chinese language GPS to navigate the freeways of California.
Btw, is the taxi in the lead photo a Toyota Comfort? I think it is.