Tokyo launches an advisory service to protect migrant workers

by Guido Alberto Casanova


The serious demographic crisis in the Land of the Rising Sun opens the door to foreigners. Today there are 1.72 million, but more than six million are needed. In many cases they are victims of abuse or oppressive conditions. The JP-MIRAI - in several languages - aims to help immigrants solve problems and settle disputes.



Tokyo (AsiaNews) - Among more developed nations, Japan is usually singled out as one of the most reluctant to open its borders to foreign workers. However, with a patently visible demographic crisis, in recent years the Tokyo government has begun to take some important steps to remedy the lack of local labour.

Today, around 1.72 million foreign nationals reside and work in the Rising Sun, two and a half times the number present a decade ago. Yet, well below the estimated 6.74 million migrant workers the nation will need by 2040.

The condition of foreign workers in Japan is very harsh and immigrants, lacking adequate support, are often abused.

A few weeks ago in Miyagi prefecture, three Vietnamese women workers, who had been forced out of their jobs and had decided to join the local union to assert their rights, were told to leave the union as a prerequisite for applying for re-employment.

By comparison, at the beginning of the year, a company in Hokkaido demanded two million yen in damages (around 17,000 euro) for 'dereliction of duty' from foreign employees at its plant who had gone on strike to demand better working conditions.

Even with regard to physical mistreatment, foreigners are often confronted with an oppressive reality. In January, a Vietnamese technical trainee reported two years of mistreatment by his Japanese colleagues, some of which had resulted in several broken bones or stitches in his lip. The worker demanded an official apology and compensation from the employment agency and the company.

To cope with these and other difficulties, a counselling service for foreign workers operated by JP-MIRAI (Japan Platform for Migrant Workers toward a Responsible and Inclusive Society), an independent body set up by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, local governments and trade unions, went into operation this week.

This service, available in several languages including Mandarin and Vietnamese, will help foreign workers to solve problems in the workplace such as unpaid wages, visa difficulties or health care. JP-MIRAI aims to act as an intermediary between foreign workers and company management, anonymously reporting employee difficulties and complaints to the latter. Should the problems be particularly serious, the platform's advisors can refer workers to a lawyer to initiate legal action.

For the time being, the service is in a pilot phase. Financing the initiative are eight Japanese companies, including Toyota and Seven&i Holdings, whose employees will be able to take advantage of the JP-MIRAI counselling. For the first year, up to 20,000 workers will have access to this service, which can be expanded to 200,000 next year and one million in 2024. The target is ambitious, and it will be necessary to wait before evaluating its effectiveness, since adherence on the part of companies (some of which have preferred not to communicate their participation to the public) remains voluntary for the time being. While the pressure to preserve human rights in the workplace is increasing in the rest of the world, something is also moving in Japan; there is still a long way to go, but the steps taken are in the right direction.