July 24, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)
TOKYO — As Japan faces an unprecedented population decline, attracting foreign workers and encouraging them to settle in the country is one key to solving the problem. However, the country is not sufficiently ready to accept them, and more prospective workers are turning away from Japan and going instead to South Korea, Europe and the U.S., where wages are higher.
How should we coexist with foreigners? This Mainichi Shimbun reporter interviewed Bhupal Man Shrestha, president of Tokyo-based CE Human Resources, a staffing agency specializing in Nepalese workers. Below is a summary of his comments.
The number of Nepalese in Japan currently stands at about 150,000. Around 2000, there were several thousand Nepalese, but after the Great East Japan Earthquake (in 2011), conditions for issuing foreign student visas were loosened a bit, leading to a sharp increase. In Nepal, where there’s a Japan boom, many people yearn to come here. It’s an advanced Asian country with some similarities in culture and religion. Although it is said that foreigners are “turning away from Japan,” its popularity in Nepal has not yet waned.
However, it is not clear whether Japan will continue to be attractive to foreigners in the future. Unless Japan changes, it may be difficult to remain a country that foreigners want to visit.
Until the 2019 system to grant visas to foreigners with skills in designated fields with personnel shortages, they could not enter Japan as general laborers. Therefore, many entered Japan on a student or skilled labor visa, for example as a chef at a Nepalese restaurant.
Nepal is a country where many go abroad to work. Even if they are educated domestically, they are unable to get the jobs they hope for. The civil war is over, but the country remains politically unstable, and disgruntled young people are leaving for the world outside.
The highly skilled elite class is aiming for white-collar jobs in the U.S. and Europe, not Japan. The less educated will go to the Middle East for physical labor jobs such as construction workers. Those who come to Japan can be classified as somewhere in between.
The reason why the elite do not choose Japan is the language barrier. It’s difficult to live in Japan if one cannot speak Japanese. Those with globally portable IT skills think, “I don’t need to study Japanese at this stage.” It will be difficult for Japan to attract highly skilled personnel unless salaries are raised significantly.
There are other hurdles as well. To go to Japan as technical intern trainees or specified skilled workers, it takes time to go through Organization for Technical Intern Training and Japanese immigration procedures. While for the U.K., prospective workers can leave within two months, for Japan they have to wait for six months to a year. And so some people wishing to go to Japan end up changing their destination midway.
In terms of salary and benefits, there is a gap between Japan and other developed countries. A nursing position in the U.K. pays an annual salary of 51,000 pounds (about 9.3 million yen; roughly $66,000), more than double that in Japan. Care workers in Israel can save a large portion of their salary, as the company pays for their living expenses and housing.
Even within Asia, salaries are higher in South Korea than in Japan for the same job. South Korea’s system for accepting foreign workers is also more advanced, and the country’s attitude that it “needs foreigners” is clear. China, with its (former) one-child policy and rapidly aging population, is probably a future rival.
What concerns me is the attitudes and reactions of Japanese who work with Nepalese, especially on-site. Some Nepalese who come to Japan and start jobs get severely scolded at work, and say, “I don’t want to work in Japan anymore.” They are often unfamiliar with Japanese norms, and can find some wordings a Japanese person might consider routine too harsh.
If they bring their families with them, there are barriers that prevent them from casually becoming part of the Japanese social scene, such as their children’s school. I hope that each Japanese person will be willing to accept foreigners into their settings.
Bhupal Man Shrestha
Shrestha was born in Nepal in 1973 and came to Japan as an international student. He has been involved in supporting Nepalese residents in Japan, and founded Everest International School, Japan. He is the president of CE Human Resources, a staffing agency specializing in Nepalese workers.
(Interview by Hideyuki Nishio, Opinion Group)