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Jan 19, 2016

Working together in Japan: Views of foreigners & locals [Street interview]

Working together in Japan: Views of foreigners & locals [Street interview] photo


After years of economic stagnation Japan’s incumbent Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, came into office making promises about stimulating the dormant finances of the world’s 3rd largest economy. Rousing rhetoric and promising early growth gave birth to the term Abenomics.


Numerous debates about corporate tax rates / an aging population, and a successful Olympic bid later, and we find ourselves in a country whose heads of industry are in a mad sprint to get cozy with overseas partners, snag their share of ‘inbound’ markets, and internationalize their workforce by having everyone take TOEIC/BULATS tests.  Could this result in greater job opportunities for overseas workers, and more foreigners and locals working together in Japan?


Setting The Scene - Data


Current population of Japan  - 126,148,909 (Jan 01,2016 est. - source: worldmeters)

Labor force (Nov. 2015) - 65,880,000

Employed - 63,790,000

Unemployed - 2,090,000 


Top employment industries in Japan (2015)


Wholesale & retail trade - 10,510,000

Manufacturing - 10,370,000

Medical, healthcare and welfare - 7,980,000


Foreign residents of Japan


Total - 2,121,831 (2014)

Top countries - China (654,777), Korea (501,230), The Philippines (217,585)

Japanese nationals living overseas - 1,258,263 (2013)

Top countries - United States (412,639), China (135,078), Australia (81,981)


Foreign entrants in 2014, by status of residence 


Top 5 by industry / status:


Specialists in Humanities & International Services - 170,548

Engineers - 88,710

Intra-company transfers - 53,766

Investors & business managers - 50,483

Entertainers - 42,144


Conflicting data from the same source regarding hours of work:


Average hours per month (2000) - 154.1hrs / 20.0 days

Average hours per month (2014) - 145.1hrs / 18.8 days

Average hours for Nov. 2015 - 159.7hrs / 20.0 days (maybe Nov. is just a tough month)


Issues


Ageing population - We all know that Japan’s aging population is already putting a strain on the nation’s workforce.  This only looks set to get greater.  


Calls for deregulation and more workers from overseas have seen an easing in immigration barriers for highly-skilled workers and trainees.  With an Olympics on the horizon to exacerbate things, Japan is surely going to need to fill in some labor shortage gaps pretty quickly (although how long-term such positions might be is uncertain).


English speaking workforce - currently Rakuten employees can boast of the highest average TOEIC score among corporate Japan, at over 800.  UNIQLO have often talked about wanting English to be their default office language, and last year Honda came out with the declaration that they want all their business to be conducted in English by 2020.  


Does this mean the future is bright for English teachers?  


Maybe? Maybe not?  According to the statistics above, most foreign workers came to Japan on Specialist in Humanities & International Services visas.  Without knowing, it’s likely that a large percentage of those are now teaching English.  The industry, however, remains plagued by rule bending, exploitation, fear mongering, and a seeming lack of interest from the authorities to put things right. There are policy changes on the horizon, as discussed in this piece in The Japan Times.   


Other issues include whether or not wages in Japan are high enough to attract the educated/trained workers from similarly ‘wealthy’ countries, and the constant grey area of contract types affording (or not) social security.

 

However the country goes about resolving these issues, market forces and an immediate need for workers will surely win over.  This is likely to mean more foreigners and locals working together in Japan.


The question is, how does everyone feel about this? 

 

We took to the streets to find locals and expats and ask them; What’s good about working alongside each other?  And, what’s challenging about it?  


Watch the video on the City-Cost Japan YouTube channel: Working Together In Japan: Foreigners & Locals.





Image (cropped to fit): Shinichi Haramizu Flickr license

Data source: Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications


City-Cost

City-Cost

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