Foreigners fill Japan’s worker shortage

An increasing number of Japanese companies are hiring foreigners, amid a severe shortage of local workers, and as they move towards globalisation.

Last year, the number of foreigners working in Japan hit a record of about 1.27 million.

One challenge for their Japanese employers, however, is long-term retention of foreign workers, many of whom frequently change jobs for more favourable conditions elsewhere, while many of them quit as they find it difficult to adapt to the working environment.

Tokyo-based Fujita Kanko, which operates hotels under the Washington Hotel brand, has 138 new employees who joined this month. Of them, 33 are foreigners from eight economies, including China, South Korea and Myanmar. The main reason is the increase in the number of foreigners visiting Japan as well as the company’s preparations for overseas expansion.

According to a survey conducted by employment information company Disco, 57.8 per cent of companies plan to hire foreign students this financial year, 22.4 percentage points higher than the percentage of companies that hired foreign students in the previous fiscal year.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of foreigners working in Japan as industries suffering from labour shortages have been actively recruiting foreign workers.

According to data compiled by the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, the number of foreign workers in Japan has risen for five years in a row, from about 680,000 in 2012 to about 1.27 million in 2017. By nationality, China topped the list with 29.1 per cent, followed by Vietnam at 18.8 per cent and the Philippines at 11.5 per cent.

However, there have been many cases in which foreign employees quit their jobs or change jobs in a short time. It is often said that overseas workers face a “wall” after three years of work experience in a Japanese company.

Also, many foreigners do not embrace the idea of working for the same company for the rest of their lives and many frequently change jobs if they find better positions.

In addition, some foreigners quit their jobs because they are not satisfied with long working hours, as well as because of inequality of treatment between foreigners and their Japanese colleagues.

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