Foreign laborers hit hard by downturn in Japanese economy
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46 Comments
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0
Spidey
Notginger, I was thinking the very same thang.
It's amazing how most Japanese don't even bat an eyelash at what is happening around them. When will the people of this country grow some b@!!s and stand up to the established status quo of discrimination and racism. Can't they see that the world is watching and judging their every move? Don't they know that if this continues unabated they will be doing the dance of social destruction with their north korean cousins?(which has already begun btw)
This is simply, SIMPLY no way for a modern civilized country to act!!
Oh! Did I say "civilized?" Please excuse me.
S
0
pointofview
If it`s true that foreign workers are being let go first because they are foreigners, than that is obvious racism.
Spidey,
Nobody speaks up here. You know that... Quite sad isn`t it?
0
soldave
I wouldn't be surprised, although it could be in some companies that a large proportion of the factory workforce are non-Japanese.
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nigelboy
This is why "mass" immigration becomes a problem.
"Foreigners are often hired through temporary employment agencies, so they can be easily fired. "
Indeed. But this argument won't hold up against the JT crowd who will almost always turn this into a racism card.
“In order to get new jobs, they need to speak Japanese,”
Yep. Repeated a thousand times by the Municipalities on an annual basis but some immigrants just don't listen.
0
tzvete
I myself would not hire someone,who do not understand what I'm saying.
0
rjd_jr
Hardly a unique situation to Japan, but as per usual the "Japan is xenophobic/racist" mantra is conveniently raised. Now how is the simple fact that temporary workers in Japan being let go is considered "racist" when in this horrid global economic world, Spain is PAYING its unemployed immigrant work force to leave the country, and millions of workers in other industrialized countries have no work.
Double standards as always.
0
Otaru
This is common practice with temporary workers. They are brought in to fill a deficiency in labour. Less production=Less need for labour. How would a company or government explain to it's citizens that it is somehow obligated to keep this foreign labour over employed citizens?? Don't think that would go over well. At least they are here legally unlike the problems the US has with its foreign "workers."
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some14some
Not hit as hard as local work force since they are called 'cheap' foreign labor even when economy is good.
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Rodney_King
I am pretty sure many japanese nationals living and sleeping in internet cafes with only part time jobs or living with daily jobs would really enjoy your comments about "discrimination and racism"....
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pointofview
My comment was based on the comment made in the article stating that the workers are being let go first because they are foreign. Sounds like a prejudice statement to me. Why are foreign contract workers needed in the first place anyway? Many people have learned and continue to learn Japanese but if companies require someone to be fluent in all areas of Japanese than that is ridiculous. A Certain level should be acceptable then build on that when working. Being a Level 1 to work is just silly. Open the doors...
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gogogo
Why is there a down turn in the economy? Look at the exchange rates today, doesn't seem there is any problem with the yen.
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realist
Another story which illustrates racist Japan. Japan is the racist capital of the world. A racist`s paradise. Do whatever you like, to whoever you choose, if he/she is an "alien." Bleep bleep.
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Patrick Smash
It's logical to fire contracted workers first. I am sure that is all that ir really happening. It is very difficult to remove entrenched Japanese staff from a workforce. Plenty of Japanese short-term contractors are suffering too.
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mojibake
So, what other countries in the world DON'T fire foreigners on work visas first? Oh, I can just see the voters turning up at the polls going, "Well, I'm glad I'm out of a job because Jose was such a great guy and would have to return to his country if he got fired, he deserved it more."
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namabiru4me
many of these people are not even "contract" workers, but outsourced to the company. When the company doesnt need them, the outsource company says "dont come to work." There is no (or little) contractual obligation for the outsource company. And very little chance that there will be any legal action towards the outsourcing company due the laborers level of Japanese and financial situation.
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Nessie
Good point Moji. I suppose you could say that layoffs of foreigners is a leading economic indicator.
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as_the_crow_flies
Most Latin workers have been working on those terms since they got to Japan, whether they have visas or not. There's no shortage of day labourers, as namabiru said, who are just told "take a yasumi". The main reason they were encouraged to come to Japan was precisely to be a flexible, mobile labour force that would work when and where there is work, and just be expected to fend for themselves when there isn't. Japanese companies turn to them even during a downturn because they can just use them when they need them. Although a growing number of Japanese are in a similar situation of casual, insecure work, many of them can't hack the kind of heavy physical work that many Latinos will do, and don't have the Latino's endless hunger for overtime. So though many are being thrown out of work right now, I will be surprised if the demand for such flexible, disposable labour doesn't stay strong, even in a depression.
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mareo2
Its called Recession. It last until the US economy improve and until then everyone have to survive the economic winter. On the big companies, first they dont renew the contract of people with 3 months or less of time in the company, next the people with 6 months or less, next people with 9 months or less and so on, these is regarless of nationality, skill, language proficience or age. Last unemployed I asked, was a 19 years old latin worker, with 9 months in a big company and good level of japanese. But I hear that in the smaller factories things are a lot worst. Everyone feel unease, lot of people have families to feed and these can be a long winter.
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sharky1
foreigners...can't live with them...can't live without them...
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sangetsu
Pointofview said" "My comment was based on the comment made in the article stating that the workers are being let go first because they are foreign. Sounds like a prejudice statement to me. Why are foreign contract workers needed in the first place anyway? Many people have learned and continue to learn Japanese but if companies require someone to be fluent in all areas of Japanese than that is ridiculous. A Certain level should be acceptable then build on that when working. Being a Level 1 to work is just silly. Open the doors..."
They were needed because Japan has a negative birth rate at the moment. The native population is declining in numbers, which means with a growing economy, workers must be found. Now that the economy is shrinking, they are no longer needed.
In order for a foreigner to qualify for a visa, he must be paid a certain amount of money for a certain amount of time, a kind of "minimum wage". If a company cannot afford to pay this wage, then they are in violation of the labor law. It is illegal to pay less, but it is legal to fire the worker.
A couple of the people in the article are here under special circumstances. Being of Japanese decent, or being married to a Japanese national makes the labor/pay argument irrelevant. These people are being let go for one of two reasons, lack of seniority (neither have been in Japan for very long, and in Japan, your seniority in a company counts for everything), or because they were, in fact, foreigners.
For some jobs, language is not much of a requirement, but for many other jobs, it is a necessity. There are plenty of native Japanese who are fluent in their language, why should a company hire a foreign worker who needs visa sponsorship, special pay/insurance considerations and the like, when they could much more easily hire a fluent, native Japanese?
0
sangetsu
As the crow flies wrote: "Most Latin workers have been working on those terms since they got to Japan, whether they have visas or not. There's no shortage of day labourers, as namabiru said, who are just told "take a yasumi". The main reason they were encouraged to come to Japan was precisely to be a flexible, mobile labour force that would work when and where there is work, and just be expected to fend for themselves when there isn't. Japanese companies turn to them even during a downturn because they can just use them when they need them. Although a growing number of Japanese are in a similar situation of casual, insecure work, many of them can't hack the kind of heavy physical work that many Latinos will do, and don't have the Latino's endless hunger for overtime. So though many are being thrown out of work right now, I will be surprised if the demand for such flexible, disposable labour doesn't stay strong, even in a depression."
Since when do any Latin people work more overtime than a Japanese? My Japanese girlfriend often works more than one hundred hours of overtime each month. Many Japanese spend more time at work than they do at home.
I'm not sure what kind of hard, physical work you are talking about. Whatever it is, I don't see latinos doing it here. I've never seen a single latino construction worker, gardener, farm worker, waste handler, fisherman, meat cutter, truck driver, in all the time I've spent in Japan.
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Good_Jorb
Ahh.., the lovely irony of people complaining about the racist firing of, in this case a latin worker and making this a shocking "Only in Japan" incident. Can not think of any other countries were foreign latin workers are held in less regard than it's own citizens.
And which country is going to be the first one to throw a stone?
0
555Book
Do the foreigners still get the axe first even if their wages are lower? I know that certain job markets in Singapore tend to base their hiring decisions on cost competitiveness more than anything else.
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kyushujoe
Sangetsu, "Latinos" in Japan are usually Peruvian or Brazilian ethnic Japanese. You wouldn't be able to tell just by looking where they were from.
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mareo2
sangetsu
With all due respect:
1 - Do you are aware that these latinos, with the exeption of hafu (mixed blood), by being descendant of Japanese means that the majority of them looks like japanese? How do you can say that the truck driver is not a brazilian if he is pure blood japanese, but born in Brazil?
Ie. I know that zainichi (koreans in J) exist, but I cant recognize one only for the looks or the voice. Personally I dont know any, but maybe I crossed one on the street.
2 - The gov keep foreigners at less of 3% of the population, from these the latino community is around 300k persons in a country of 127 millions. The chance of you crossing a latino the street maybe is 1 in 423, you get better chances if you go to an industrial town like Oizumi in Gunma.
3 - I am a latino descendant of Japanese, with J citizenship, like hafus I see and think from the both sides. I worked in bentoya 16 hours a day in high season, 12 hours a day in low season, six days per week, only few days of vacation per year, loading machines with 400 sacks of 25 kgs. of flour. I sweated in a foundry shoveling sand at 50 celsius deegre. I dont think that is light jobs, because I hurted my back and now I only can do light work.
4 - I have a high respect for japanese working women because they have to work harder than men for probe that can do something equal or better than men, that women dont are only for cocking, having childs, serve tea or push butons in an elevator. Also I have a great respect for old japanese that worked hard for rebuild these country from war and make it the second economy of the world. But I have a low opinion of young japanese males that came, work a few days and vanish with out say good bye, the kind of worker that have no memories of hunger and poverty in post war japan or not suffer a glass ceiling. Like in any other rich, advanced first world country, dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs is mostly for foreigners.
Sorry for the long post and my horrible english.
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kjunluc2
I saw this coming in Japan when they imported so many foreigners to do the dirty, dangerous work.
Concerning women, in all my years in Japan I saw only two J'ese husbands who treated their wives with respect. There are probably a few more but not many.
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kjunluc2
Mareo, I agree. I knew a Half J'ese from LA, father Japanese. He went to Gumma University. Students wouldn't allow him in dorms so he had to teach English in order to rent.
And your English is fine.
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nigelboy
"Some foreign laborers have abandoned Japan amid the troubles, especially those from Brazil, where the currency is plummeting and workers with savings in Japanese yen see an opportunity to cash in."
This is a luxury that a Japanese citizens don't have.
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boobug
This is nothing more than a mere reflection of continued racist attitudes by the Japanese. Put simply, they could hire these foreign workers directly at a 20% savings to their company. Cut out the dispatch agencies that send these workers to various sites and hire them on as full time staff. As new-hires most of these workers will work for lower wages from the outset. Time for Japan to stop the racism, get rid of their dead wood in their companies, and hire qualified people to do the job... no matter what nationality !
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nigelboy
Another pathetic attempt to bring the race issue to this article.
First of all, where did you get this 20% savings crap? Second, what makes you so sure that the Japanese won't work at lower wages from the outset? There are over a million Japanese who are classified as Day workers (日雇い）and I'm quite positive that they will work for lower wages if they are offered as a full time staff. And these people can't "abandon Japan amid the troubles and cash in".
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boobug
"where did you get this 20% savings crap?"
Lemme guess, you think dispatch agencies work for free ? Cut them out completely and you still have enough left over to pay pensions (which most dispatch agencies don't) and insurance.
"Second, what makes you so sure that the Japanese won't work at lower wages from the outset?"
Because these are the same Japanese that shun the "3 K" jobs ! And again, you seem to be missing the point, the market should decide the value of these jobs... not a race/gender based archaic system like we see in Japan. Other industries, ex: foreign language teaching, has proven that foreigners from impoverished nations (the philippines, Indonesia, M.E. etc) will work for 1/2 the salary as a Japanese. I know, my office has hired up dozens of third worlders who will work for as low as 1,500 yen an hour ! The job to date has paid better than 3,500 yen an hour.
"There are over a million Japanese who are classified as Day workers (日雇い）and I'm quite positive that they will work for lower wages if they are offered as a full time staff."
Really ? How do you explain all the job hopping freeters ? NEETS ? Hikikomori ?
All of these individuals either quit a job in search of a better paying one, or have given up all together ! Talk about "abandonment and cashing in" ! A nation of quitters if you ask me !
As for race, well... I guess you weren't here when the Japanese government stated that foreign nationals will never be in positions of management where the subordinate is Japanese ! That was the beginning of Japans "nusring" crisis, and we see where "that" racist attitude got them ! Sorry, there are just too many examples and I don't want to get too far off topic. The fact is Japan's racist attitudes and xenophobic attitudes is the main reason for its problems with labor shortages !
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nigelboy
Utter garbage. Your argument works only if there are no costs involved when a company does exactly what these dispatch agencies do.
"Because these are the same Japanese that shun the "3 K" jobs !
So according to your logic a small struggling company will hire a Japanese at a higher wage "3K" than a foreigner that will work for 1,500 yen/hr. Yep.
Why do people like you always come up with off the wall absurd claims?
What about them? NEETS/Hikikkomori are not part of the labor force and are not included in the （日雇い）category. Focus now.
Labor shortage? Hello?? McFLY?? Hello? Read the article.
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boobug
Poor nigelboy, dude has obviously bought into the misinformation so rampantly dispersed here at these so-called "news and discussion" sites. So if I may,
"Your argument works only if there are no costs involved when a company does exactly what these dispatch agencies do."
Wrong ! Dispatch agencies are nothing more than a middle man. Common sense surely dictates that direct contractual agreements are going to be much cheaper for any company that is actively hiring ! Heres the scenerio, as is a dispatch agency charges 10,000 yen an hour for dispatching a worker. 3,000 yen goes to the worker, the agency takes the rest. The agency doesn't bother to make pension payments or insurance because they claim the dispatched individual is a "part-timer" with their firm. In this case, almost everyone loses ! The worker is underpaid, the government fails to get pension payments, insurance companys lose out, and the company receiving the laborer is paying way too much ! This is a common practice for many dispatch agencies and the leading cause of drastic increases with Japan's working poor ! What conmpanys should do, if they simply quit acting like racists, is to hire the individual at 4,000 yen an hour and take the remaining 6,000 for pensions, housing allowances, insurance premiums, etc. Now Nigelboy, I work in this industry, so trust me I know of what I speak.
"So according to your logic a small struggling company will hire a Japanese at a higher wage "3K" than a foreigner that will work for 1,500 yen/hr. Yep."
Yep is right ! Have you bothered to check the numbers of bankruptcies in Japan the last 5 years ? Have you stopped to ask yourself why there is a nursing shortage in Japan ? Have you once tried to comprehend why Yoshinoya has gone to almost all Chinese staff in their Tokyo area shops ?
"What about them? NEETS/Hikikkomori are not part of the labor force and are not included in the （日雇い）category."
But they were part of the labor force ! Trying to ignore them now is irresponsible pie in the sky nonsense ! As is the vast majority of your post... McFly !
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MASSWIPE
"This is why "mass" immigration becomes a problem."
Well then, Nigelboy, why don't you tell this to the people at Keidanren? They are the ones (pure-blooded Japanese, through and through) who are pushing harder than anybody else for mass immigration in Japan. They don't have any confidence in the ability of indolent Japanese to get away from their Nintendo DSLs and do factory work. Do you?
You keep whining about people bringing race into this discussion. The entire Japanese immigration policy is based on race, akin to the White Australia policy. Why were unskilled laborers from Brazil with names like Sameshima made an exception to the rule and given Japanese work visas in the first place? Because such people have Japanese blood, and the Japanese establishment foolishly thought that that alone would assure their assimilation into society. You reap what you sow. Japan has brought these problems upon itself. It's time for a new policy in Tokyo.
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nigelboy
Common sense tells you that companies rely on these employment agencies simply because they can't be bothered with the cost/time required to advertise, screen, and process the potential applicants. To say that these agencies caused an increase in "Day jobs" is a lame argument. It's exactly the opposite. The demand for Hakken/Day Jobs are result of companies cutting down personnel costs for jobs that require no certification/qualifications and little educational background.
Why does this pertain to the article above? The workers indicated in this article are almost exclusively non-certified individuals (not like the nurses) who's only qualifications are for manual labor. This is what we're talking about. To say that these small companies would prefer to hire a 3,000 yen/hr Japanese over a 1,500 yen/hr foreigners is ridiculous beyond hope. Your example is just the opposite. What they are doing is hiring foreigners over Japanese because of the lower wages (Yoshinoya). You're all over the place.
No They are "potential" labor force which is anyone over 15 years of age. What we're talking about here is the over a million Japanese "Day Job" workers who WOULD do virtually almost anything to become a full time staff. Hikkikomori/NEETS have no desire to work and are classfied as so separately under the MHLW classifications.
And again, the ultimate proof that you have no clue what you're ranting about.
"The fact is Japan's racist attitudes and xenophobic attitudes is the main reason for its problems with** labor shortages **!"
McFly?? Hello?? Is anybody in there????
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nigelboy
MASSWIPE.
That's what I said.
"This is why "mass" immigration becomes a problem"
They're great as a temporary basis but the economy turns sour, they become a burden. This is what the Western nations are facing.
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nigelboy
http://www.hanmoto.com/bd/isbn978-4-7503-1752-6.html
This is a book about comparisons of immigration policies thorughout the world.
Better Nikkeis than non-Nikkeis.
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MASSWIPE
"Better Nikkeis than non-Nikkeis."
Wrong again, Nigelboy. Rather, better to regard unskilled foreign laborers as human beings rather than just replaceable parts that can be discarded when a downturn occurs. Whether the foreign laborers have Japanese blood or not is far less important.
Again, contact Keidanren if you're so worked up about this issue. That organization is pushing harder than anybody else for mass immigration in Japan, because Japanese businesses want that cheap, exploitable foreign labor. For once, demand that Japanese take responsibility for their actions. Can you do it? Somehow I don't think so.
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elbudamexicano
What is KEIDANREN? I want to know more about this organization MAsswipe.
0
barfly08
Nigelboy, Huh ?
"The demand for Hakken/Day Jobs are result of companies cutting down personnel costs for jobs that require no certification/qualifications and little educational background."
Surely you jest ! The largest form of dispatched worker in Japan are language teachers... who must have university degrees !
0
barfly08
More huh ?
"To say that these small companies would prefer to hire a 3,000 yen/hr Japanese over a 1,500 yen/hr foreigners is ridiculous beyond hope. Your example is just the opposite. What they are doing is hiring foreigners over Japanese because of the lower wages (Yoshinoya). You're all over the place."
Seems to me that Boobugs point is that thousands of corporate bankruptcies and a falling nursing supply are both examples of how Japan refuses to hire cheaper foreign labor, to the point of economic and industrial suicide... I'd have to agree ! It seems that only recently Japan has made efforts to hire foreigners directly. I say dump all dispatch agencies and let the Japanese learn more about open and free competition in the job market, trust me taking out the middle man will be a boom for everyone, except the dispatch agency of course.
0
helloklitty
The strong yen exacerbates the downturn in the economy because it makes Japanese exports more expensive which hurts sales for Japanese companies.
The strong yen is good only for travelers going overseas.
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barfly08
"The strong yen is good only for travelers going overseas."
Wrong ! It should be a boom time for any J entrepenuer that has the no-how to market quality American products. From GE to Proctor and Gamble, the shelves here should be flooded with stuff we Americans have grown to know and love !
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nigelboy
Why is it "wrong"? Those that want to make Japan their permanent home will do so by educating themselves and thus transform themselves from becoming "unskilled" to "skilled". Those that are here "for the buck" are just as you said replaceable parts since "Some foreign laborers have abandoned Japan amid the troubles, especially those from Brazil, where the currency is plummeting and workers with savings in Japanese yen see an opportunity to cash in."
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