Japan scheme 'abuses foreign workers'

[Tokis-Phoenix]

"Over the past 17 years, thousands of foreign workers have travelled to Japan, taking part in an official scheme to learn skills they cannot pick up in their own countries.

But this year the Japanese government's own experts have admitted that in many cases trainees are used as cheap labour.

The US state department has gone further. In its annual report on human trafficking, it said that "some migrant workers are reportedly subjected to conditions of forced labour through [its] foreign trainee programme";

Full story;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7014960.stm





I find the latest story on this interesting but it does not suprise me. I think Japan has got to do something about its attitude and approach to foreign labour, however i am probably hypocritical because these problems are probably going on in my own country too (England).

For people that have has some experience of this problem, would you say that any particular type of foreign workers, lets say like the Chinese, are more abused by the system than other races?

What are your views on this article?

[Pachipro]

I find the latest story on this interesting but it does not suprise me. I think Japan has got to do something about its attitude and approach to foreign labour, however i am probably hypocritical because these problems are probably going on in my own country too (England).


Not only are they going on in your country, they are going on right here in the US also.

In a way they are abused, at least here in the US, because most of them are illegal (and the hiring companies know it!) and are willing to work for less wages with no benefits vs local workers. I think the same thing goes on in Japan and in all industrialized countries today as the wages they make are still far better than they could make in their own country and most of the money is sent back to their own country to support their family.

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Not only are they going on in your country, they are going on right here in the US also.

In a way they are abused, at least here in the US, because most of them are illegal (and the hiring companies know it!) and are willing to work for less wages with no benefits vs local workers. I think the same thing goes on in Japan and in all industrialized countries today as the wages they make are still far better than they could make in their own country and most of the money is sent back to their own country to support their family.



Indeed, there was this story which hit the headlines not that long ago which is a classic case of this problem;

"Domino's workers in 'slavery' row";

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6923024.stm

[Glenski]

Japan is different from the USA and UK in that its population is declining. Yes, going down. The number of aged are on the rise, and not enough people are being born to take up the slack (or future jobs).

So, who can do that, other than foreigners? Usually, people associate foreign workers with lowly paid people doing the 3 K's, but let's face it. If more people don't show up in Japan, through childbirth or immigration, nobody will be left to turn out the lights.