86% of municipalities across Japan want more foreign workers: survey

A total of 20 percent said they are providing financial incentives to companies that hire foreign workers and have job-matching programs between foreign nationals and businesses.

Taxpayer provided corporate welfare "incentives" to businesses, who can pay the foreign workers the absolute minimum required by law (or less), definitely helping the bottom line for these business owners.

A win-win for Japan Inc. and the LDP, keep on privatizing those profits and socializing the losses.

A very bogus headline...

They want more workers and would prefer Japanese workers. Because they are finding it difficult to hire Japanese staff at the wages being offered they will be willing to put up with imported labor and the added problems that come with it

They only want someone who can pay residential tax and keep those property value in that area. Property value will drop when no one live there for sure.

Its kind of like the USA opening up the Mexican borders and having an influx of mexican flowing looking for work. You can surive off these low end pay jobs and live in one room mansion tiny box houses. I already see soo many working at convenience stores.

Mr KiplingToday 04:56 pm JST

A very bogus headline...

They want more workers and would prefer Japanese workers. Because they are finding it difficult to hire Japanese staff at the wages being offered they will be willing to put up with imported labor and the added problems that come with it

I imagine they consider an imported worker 10x better than a nonexistent Japanese worker. The towns aren't disappearing for no reason.

I've recently come across two male Nepalese day care centre workers in my neighborhood. Just this morning they were out and about wheel chairing around the block some weekend care center residents. Very decent young men. In addition I believe they are on some kind of language exchange program.

Sadly, Japan’s track record of the treatment of foreign workers means they are seeking more cheap labor for menial tasks that they can treat like slaves.

Sure, what they want is foreigners to fill all the crap jobs that the Japanese themselves don't want to do, pay them very low salaries, make them feel like it's a privilege that they are in "Japan", use them for a few years and then send them back to their countries and hire a new batch of gullible laborers. Let's be real how many of these foreign workers are they giving office jobs to with bonuses twice a year like your typical salary man, zero is the answer. Warehouse worker, farming, elderly care facilities, convenience store clerks, construction crew, garbage collectors, where can I fill out an application??

As others are saying, they want cheap laborers because most of those jobs are unappealing to Japanese workers. They avoid 3K jobs (kitanai, kitsui, kiken) so they need people from developing countries. If they job isn't like that, they want the most Japanesey foreigners available- business level Japanese, willing to work overtime constantly, never asks for vacation, etc.

Disperse and build universities all over Japan - not just in Tokyo.

Decrease foreign tuition to attract foreign students and those that come here and graduate will get a fast-track to permanent residency.

These 20 year olds will be a young and educated demographic residing all over Japan.

Govts. should incentivise large companies to relocate to these areas as possible avenues of employment for these foreign graduates and local Japanese.

It's worth a shot. Nothing else has worked.

Ideally, they want educated and extremely productive slaves with the possibility to dispose them whenever necessary.

“86% of municipalities across Japan want more foreign workers”

translation: With the low pay and long hours offered, we can’t get Japanese people to work, so let’s get random foreigners that will.

“there’s a labor shortage in Japan”

translation: we won’t offer more pay or competitive pay, and we aren’t seeing many people looking to work for our company. I don’t get it.

”we need more foreign people to move to Japan and work, and there’s too many tourists in tokyo and Kyoto.”

translation: we want people that will blindly pay taxes, but we will make it nearly impossible for them to move here. We want tourists to spend money, but we don’t want tourists to stay.

“we need more Filipinos to work in health care. But they aren’t coming.”

translation: they can’t pass our stupid tests, but we will blame it on them. Our tests and high standards can’t be the problem.

PAY them right, Treat them right, Respect them, and you will become a king.

I’ve check the original article and it translates as “majority of municipalities in Japan, approximately 86%, express the desire for an increased number of foreign slaves to fill positions unwanted by normal people.”

Nishinoomote on Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture

This actually looks like a pretty cool place with good food, surfing, hiking and other things to do. I may want to check it out.

Keep them coming.

Speed ..

Decrease foreign tuition to attract foreign students and those that come here and graduate will get a fast-track to permanent residency.

Most foreign students are in Japan because the Japanese government gives them scholarships.

shogun36

“we need more Filipinos to work in health care. But they aren’t coming.”

translation: they can’t pass our stupid tests, but we will blame it on them. Our tests and high standards can’t be the problem.

The real reason is that they are going to the US, and getting much higher-paying jobs in the healthcare field in California. And at the post office.

Don't want to be cynical, but municipalities only see need for x more labor for these number of positions with y qualifications. Who would even ask that they should be foreigners as it's really an added cost compared due to training and accomodation.

So then it leaves the question of why foreign? What could that mean.

Disperse and build universities all over Japan - not just in Tokyo.

There are universities all over Japan already. But I don't see how this will help bring in the labour needed in remote areas.

Then they are going to need to raise salaries.

Japan is slowly dying. They want to solve their labor shortage by bringing in foreigners, yet they still have a xenophobic attitude towards immigration. Most recently offering a "special" visa for high degree top school applicants. I doubt that any Harvard grad student is going to apply so that he/she can earn 1/3 the pay, live inside a matchbox house and struggle with a foreign language. Good luck with that Japan. What the Japanese and their high regulation controlling ways don't get is the spirit of "Lady Liberty". "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". A country cannot buy or regulate itself to greatness. All they can do is open up to the world take their chances and let the power of individual motivation take over. Yes, there will be failures and criminals and all the stuff associated with humanity. There will also be brilliance and exceptional people thankful for the opportunity. There will be first generation children who driven by their parents, educate and build a better life than they had. This is Japan's only hope.

OK, great. Then grant me permanent residency from my previous marriage being that I have two children living in Japan and you’ll have one more …because right now, I was refused and thrown out.

Looks like they want low or zero skilled laborers. How much training does a in-home nurse need in Japan? Are they full RNs with 4 yr degrees or someone who finished a 6 month introductory course? IDK.

For ag workers, just create an ag-worker visa and be done with it. Put restrictions on bringing family into Japan and have forced annual returns to their home country as part of the visa process. Learn from the issues caused in other countries. Perhaps providing a way to Japanese citizenship should be included for people that Japan wants to stay forever. IDK.

All for show....For me, there are capable hands in this country but if any government official is seeing this, you need to work on your strict immigration rules and make it easier for people to gain permanent residency and stop deciding the length of stay on one's visa on how much taxes the person had remitted. The other day at a gathering in the southern part of the country, polls were conducted to ascertain if foreigners should be brought into the mix and allowed to vote and do all administrative stuffs, alas, these old hags voted against it. A country where you pay taxes and you ain't allowed to cast votes doesn't seem welcoming. No matter what you do and how long you've lived here, you're always gonna be a gaijin. Japanese should also do those jobs that lack employees and let's see if they are strong enough. Everyone wants to wear the useless white top and black pants parading themselves as doing something worthwhile. They need to stop the indirect racial profiling of outsiders and just push the country forward. Wages are low while the cost of living is high. 60% of your paycheck goes into the hands of this govt., yet you do not merit any good thing from them as a foreigner. If everybody is high skilled, who will do the low skilled jobs needed to keep a balance in the life of the middle skilled and high skilled. Everyone is indispensable!!! Peace in and out!

Please dont

Most industrial countries want more immigrant workers who will get paid a lot less but work longer hours, because which ever way you look at it, it is always about making more money and profit, with less out goings.

No need to specify "immigrant", The statement is just as true with just that word removed:

Most industrial countries want more workers who will get paid a lot less but work longer hours, because which ever way you look at it, it is always about making more money and profit, with less out goings.

It isn't about the countries. It is about the companies.

That only seems to be the solution to the problems. Taking away the very few skilled workers from the developing countries will lead to even more problems there and then have again to be fixed with the only temporary merits those brought-in workers generated here. Like it or not, but the only solution is to make and have more own children, then to educate them excellently so that they can innovate new products and services that sell well on global markets, bringing in the money and surrounding conditions to the next generation of younger people so that they also have families and children and looking optimistic into future. That demand for quickly refilling workforce with foreigners is of course a misleading path and won't be very successful, especially when considering that many other countries also look for them and mostly don't succeed too although even having those higher salaries and cozy social security nets already. What happens to them? Are they flooded by experts and can handle the influx? Neither of it.

Sven AsaiToday 03:26 pm JST

That only seems to be the solution to the problems. Taking away the very few skilled workers from the developing countries will lead to even more problems there and then have again to be fixed with the only temporary merits those brought-in workers generated here.

What? The benefits the workers bring to Japan can be permanent if you give them permanent residency and make Japan an attractive place for people that weren't born there. As for the brain drain to the birth country, that sucks for them, but hardly not Japan's priority. If another country like Canada gets them, the effect will be the same on the birth country.

Like it or not, but the only solution is to make and have more own children,

Hold on right there. How exactly will Japan achieve this when it has been a problem for 30 years and no developed country has achieved it?

then to educate them excellently so that they can innovate new products and services that sell well on global markets, bringing in the money and surrounding conditions to the next generation of younger people so that they also have families and children and looking optimistic into future.

You know what also does that? Skilled permanent residents. And you don't even have to wait the 20 years for them to grow and get through school.

That demand for quickly refilling workforce with foreigners is of course a misleading path and won't be very successful, especially when considering that many other countries also look for them and mostly don't succeed too although even having those higher salaries and cozy social security nets already. What happens to them? Are they flooded by experts and can handle the influx? Neither of it.

Japan has the opportunity to determine exactly who it gets. That assumes, of course, that the people it wants still want to go to Japan, though...