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Gov't panel reviewing Japan foreign trainee program holds 1st meeting

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Nga said her pay was withheld and she frequently logged over 100 hours of overtime a month, an illegally high amount.

100 hours is the "legal" limit. On average over 25 hours a week, probably 6 days a week, at over 10 hours a day.

State sponsored slave labor!

-5 ( +9 / -14 )

I suspect that like the last time a panel met to look at illegal overtime the result was a legal increase in the amount of overtime allowed rather than an enfacement of existing laws, they just change the laws to suit businesses. So I’m guessing they will make it legal to confiscate passports, physical violence to be part and parcel of being a vocational worker and an increase in the number of such visa’s available. Also an expansion of The Ministry of Justice Immigration / Detention facility’s. That’s just how things go in Japan.

-8 ( +7 / -15 )

It's like 1st meeting of top govt official since 1993 to discuss foreign trainee

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/04/09/reference/foreign-trainee-system-said-still-plagued-by-rights-abuses/

As of the end of June, there were around 328,000 people residing in Japan as technical trainees and about 87,000 as specified skills workers, according to the agency.

Number of foreign workers with specified skill workers visa applicants still bellow expected target, now with yen decline not so many people from abroad really interested to get into Japan.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/02/ecb1475abeb0-number-of-foreigners-in-japan-with-new-working-visa-totals-1621.html

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

A gabfest that will achieve zero.

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

Currently the system seems made with the specific purpose of giving companies any leverage they want so they can get cheap unprotected labor from the "trainees" there is no room left to pretend otherwise.

Make a system where the people coming have actual power to have their contract enforced and have the companies shoulder the responsibility of acting according to the law or be punished with severity. If a company is no longer interested in the program because of the changes it will be a loss for the trainees that could have worked there, but not as much as having to overwork for free and be abused.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

It's already clear that the trainee programme is now outdated and irrelevant, away from its original purpose (of assisting the developing countries via tech transfer). Not to mention, it proves ineffective even counterproductive in reforms and innovations for Japan's labor market (adjustment).

As there are alternative visa schemes, the trainee programme can be scaled down or abolished altogether.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

They should have had this meeting 10 years ago.... Doing whatever looks like they are doing something when changing nothing.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Nothing will change. Except that with the plummeting of the yen no one wants to come here anymore.

My prediction - Germany will overtake Japan as the 3rd largest economy within the next few years and the UK and France will soon follow.

Listening to a lot of different opinions on Youtube from various economists, but most are in agreement that the yen is in freefall and will not rebound. It's already pretty bad now and from what I hear, so many English teachers are packing it in and going home since the fall of the yen has made it both more expensive to live here and impossible to pay back student loans AND the southeast asians are looking at the situation here and starting to realize it's not worth coming here anymore.

So maybe THAT'S why they are having this meeting now. It's just for show- Tatemae. It will accomplish NOTHING, but that doesn't matter. People are slowly turning away from Japan.

-13 ( +6 / -19 )

Big business + cheap foreign labor = the govt doing absolutely nothing. And you can take that to the bank

0 ( +9 / -9 )

I give a speech every year to students about how minorities (foreigners) can often receive less pay and benefits as compared to their Japanese counterparts. But just saying that doesn't click with them. So I began to add a section in the speech talking about how Japanese women still tend to receive less than men in Japan. And suddenly, every girl in the room is fully focused and you can see them beginning to understand exactly what minorities (foreigners) can face. For effective changes to be made, people need to be made more aware of what is really happening. Many just do not know.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

I love the show the Japanese Government puts on from time to time. It's a great drama! Too bad it's just a show.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

shortly afterward, they were informed of the company's bankruptcy and that payment is difficult.

They should go into these peoples houses and take things to pay these people the money they are owed

2 ( +4 / -2 )

RustomToday  08:50 am JST

Nothing will change. Except that with the plummeting of the yen no one wants to come here anymore. 

My prediction - Germany will overtake Japan as the 3rd largest economy within the next few years and the UK and France will soon follow. 

Listening to a lot of different opinions on Youtube from various economists, but most are in agreement that the yen is in freefall and will not rebound. It's already pretty bad now and from what I hear, so many English teachers are packing it in and going home since the fall of the yen has made it both more expensive to live here and impossible to pay back student loans AND the southeast asians are looking at the situation here and starting to realize it's not worth coming here anymore. 

So maybe THAT'S why they are having this meeting now. It's just for show- Tatemae. It will accomplish NOTHING, but that doesn't matter. People are slowly turning away from Japan.

I agree with Aly,and on the top of that the world community is slowly realizing how Japan is treating these foreigners coming from developing countries like slaves.

They could hide such things in the past,but with the digital era and internet everything is exposed.

Japan either change it’s mindset on human rights and respect on other minorities otherwise no one want to come to work in such an environment anymore.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

Change the name to “overseas work experience” and it will be fine.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Unpaid overtime

Weak yen

Low salary

High social insurances

Etc.

Nothing can be done to address the issues, just leave the country if you can.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

With the way the Japanese economy and yen are heading, in the next decade or so the roles will be reversed and it will be the Japanese who head overseas to perform slave-labor work in other more affluent countries in order to send money to elderly family members back home.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

"...away from its original purpose (of assisting the developing countries via tech transfer).

I doubt that was even its "original purpose." It's always been a cynical scheme to exploit third-world labor under the lame guise of "training" and to prop up Japanese companies that would be better off shutting down or consolidating with more competent partners.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

Thanks JT for reporting but largely a non issue among the local population. Nothing about this on Kansai TV news networks again tonight.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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