Japan Today Get your ticket to GaijinPot Expo 2024

Voices
in
Japan

quote of the day

Looking at the global environment, Japan is lagging in attracting high-skilled and knowledgeable foreign human resources.

10 Comments

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, saying he is considering systemic reforms to attract such workers.

© Yomiuri Shimbun

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

10 Comments
Login to comment

Why not incentivise and train young Japanese workers to fill these high-skilled and well paying jobs? Problem solved. (Unless, of course, these jobs aren't actually high-skilled or well paid and the goal is just to import and exploit cheap foreign workers to boost Japan Inc's profitability.)

10 ( +12 / -2 )

@M3M3M3 - from another publication:

On the same day, Kishida visited the planned site of an international research and education organization that will be established in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, and said, “We want to make it a world-class center where outstanding researchers from Japan and abroad gather to conduct the world’s most advanced research."

I think he's talking about bringing in top technology people, not just cheap foreign workers (though how cheap can they be if they have to fly to Japan and live there?).

Personally, and speaking as a technology person, I'd love to work in Japan, but how to find a job, set up residency and find housing, deal with the language (I have taken a couple of years of Japanese in college but can't really speak more than a few words) and find something for my family to do would all be quite challenging. Then there's the little detail that tech jobs pay a lot more in the U.S., so moving to Japan for such work would be strictly a lifestyle choice and not a financially wise move.

I think in the long run, Japan needs to up its game and become more competitive in software versus the U.S. giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook etc., and then they will have more high paying jobs & start attracting top talent from overseas, likely mostly from China and other Asian areas.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Entry-level is not minimum wage.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

All G7 economies are struggling because they lack the relatively low-paid migrant labourers that they have all just kicked out/repatriated. If you think their jobs are 'low skilled', why are so few of the locals capable of replacing them? You try harvesting crops all day and you'll find out.

Focus on graduates if you want, but 'enough graduates' is easier to produce from local labour than enough key workers, manual labourers and care workers. No G7 economy is failing due to a lack of bankers and management.

It really shouldn't be difficult producing more skilled Japanese workers. There are so many universities in Japan. What do they do all day?

IT security is a separate case. Everyone is short of them, as most tech is poorly designed, poorly implemented and poorly deployed, and they are needed to make good the failings.

Incidents like the high profile prosecution of Carlos Ghosn really didn't help. Neither does the ban on effective painkillers and sundry tax/residency laws.

Japan has its own unique business culture, which foreigners may find difficult to adapt to and frustrating. Squaring that circle may not be possible.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I can’t imagine why.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

@blue, well argued!

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Looking at the global environment, Japan is lagging in attracting high-skilled and knowledgeable foreign human resources.

They have before, but the problem is when the foreigners are too good then the Japanese coworkers get jealous. After that, you begin to have the scheming by Japanese colleagues leading to them trying to find ways to get rid them. The same situation happened to Ghosn with Nissan colluding with corrupt officials in Abe's political party.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites