Japan: Measures such as allowing workers to change jobs could tackle the abuse of Vietnamese workers in Technical Intern program, says economist
“Japan is no longer an attractive destination for Vietnamese workers”
In 2019, BBC journalist Stephanie Hegarty reported that foreign workers employed under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program were being exploited…
…Both statuses are based on the premise of working while learning a skill, but it has been argued that these workers are used as cheap migrant labour with little support provided for training. They work in industries where labour is in short supply such as food and beverage manufacturing, sewing, construction, cleaning and agriculture…
Vietnam is the largest source of this migrant labour…
…The depreciation of the yen against the Vietnamese dong has also accelerated, and the salaries that Vietnamese migrant workers receive have decreased by at least 10–20 per cent…
…The first is to eliminate brokers. Vietnamese migrant workers to Japan borrow about 1 million yen from brokers to pay for travel expenses. That figure is higher than the amount paid by migrant workers from other countries like Indonesia or the Philippines…
…Japan would do well to follow South Korea’s lead where an employment permit system was implemented in 2006. This eliminates brokers…South Korea…also allows migrant workers to change jobs in the same industry under certain conditions…