Observers say this is another sign that the technical intern program -- long criticized by rights groups at home and abroad as akin to slavery -- is seriously flawed. In a system equivalent to modern-day slavery, many interns have escaped, though sometimes it meant breaking the law. An important, yet increasingly controversial, mechanism for recruiting migrant construction workers in Japan – and foreign labour for many other sectors – is the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP). Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. FY2018 Website is now open for application! Overseas Performing Artists /Entertainers (OPAs) 5. The Japan Times quoted a Kyodo News survey as saying that nearly a third of 1,240 municipalities across the country said they want more foreign workers to compensate their shrinking labor force. Some larger firms are also taking special note of how trainees are treated. With the help of the union, he got his injury recognized as a workplace accident, and underwent surgery, but even now, he can't bend the four fingers besides his thumb on his right hand. The Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO), which is a public-interest foundation and authorized by the Cabinet office, supports technical intern training programs. In the Technical Intern Training Program, foreign technical interns enter into an employment relationship with companies in Japan, and can learn skills that are difficult to acquire in their own countries. All rights reserved. 【Related】Shrinking Japan: Foreign workers counted on for Olympic, reconstruction projects, 【Related】Shrinking Japan: Asian interns carrying the weight of agriculture industry, 【Related】Shrinking Japan: High hurdles driving prospective foreign workers to other countries, Saudi women's rights activist sentenced to nearly 6 years, Ex-transport minister Yuichiro Hata becomes 1st Japanese lawmaker to die from COVID-19, Japan foreign minister to visit Africa, Latin America in January. light of the Industrial Training and Technical Internship Programs, and the new residence status of “Technical Intern” was created. "We are like prisoners," she said. Since the government wants foreign workers to do the work most Japanese refuse to take, it should guarantee that they receive the same pay as the Japanese do and allow no exploitation, he added. Then, the … An official at a supervisory group said there is a belief among supervisory groups and companies in Japan that the Technical Intern Training Program is a way to "get trainees at low cost." For her and her Chinese colleagues there, every day is like sitting in a hellish dungeon. AKAL is an approved “sending organization” in India under the TITP program that can hire, train and process visa’s for workers to work in Japan. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser. The trainees, before landing in Japan, have already paid large sums of money in broker fees, leaving many of them in debt. The Organization for Technical Intern Training, a legal entity with regulatory authority, was set up under the joint supervision of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. The measure to rectify the Technical Intern Training Program was approved in response to such calls. Even so, the Japanese government plans to further expand the trainee program as Japan's population continues to age and shrink. Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) The Technical Intern Training program was introduced primarily to transfer skills and technologies developed in Japan throughout the other developing nations and to contribute to the development of human resources by promoting international cooperation with developing countries. Wacoal Holdings Corp., a maker of women's underwear, conducted a survey this year to find out if there were any violations of the human rights of technical trainees in the supply network handling the company's products. This revise d Act is to come into force on July 1, 2010. Recently at the company's female dormitory in a corner of a residential district of the city, trainees of various nationalities gathered for a midday meal. "We start to work at 7 in the early morning and only get off as late as 9 or 10 at night, with just one hour for lunch and supper. Japan based on an employment contract with such organization; the same shall apply hereinafter. I have learned very little here," she said, adding that they had to pay for training lessons when they first started the job. The practice was formalized as the technical intern program in 1993. Overwork is just a daily routine.". JITCO and the sending countries discuss matters relating to the program and sign … ・The technical intern trainee has experience of engaging in the sam e kind of work in a foreign country as the work the trainee in tends to engage in while in Japan, or there are special circumstances necessitating th e technical intern trainee engage in th e technical intern training (only in cas es pertaining to supervising-organization-type technical intern training). Trainees under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) 6. 5. According to media reports, as of last June, there are altogether 210,000 foreigners working in firms and farms across Japan as what Tokyo calls trainees. (Japanese original by Tomohiro Katahira and Jun Kaneko, City News Department). With the lifting of the ban on foreign laborers, "technical trainees may come to fulfill the original aims of the program," one hopeful Justice Ministry official said. 2018.2.16 NEWS "Case Study" page has been released. Things are no better for You, one of Tian's Chinese co-workers in the factory who is from east China's Zhejiang province. There's no difference between Japanese and foreigners.". The objectives and purpose of the Technical Intern Training Program are to transfer skills, technologies, or knowledge (“Skills etc.”) accumulated in Japan to developing and other regions and to promote international cooperation by contributing to the development of human resources who can play roles in the economic development of those developing regions. Most trainees come to Japan only to do the low-paying 3K (dangerous, dirty and difficult in the Japanese language) jobs, most of which the Japanese themselves would not want to do. Japan will establish a foreign technical training entity sanctioned by … That has invited a pervasive delay of payments, mistreatment and harassment, and abuses of their legitimate rights and interests have been rampant. They are not hired because they are cheap labor, says company president Terumasa Matsumoto. However, there has been a succession of cases in which trainees have been treated badly and in which they have fled to find other work. Under revisions to Japan's immigration control law being debated in the Diet, technical intern trainees who have completed a three-year training course in … According to the program, Japanese businesses have to hire such foreign workers through either private or official middlemen. 2018.4.2 NEWS. "We lived in horrible conditions, with five to six people packed in the same tiny room. In some cases, it has raised money for the academic fees of trainees who return to their home countries. There are 2 types of acceptance methods for foreign interns. Application was closed. Under revisions to Japan's immigration control law being debated in the Diet, technical intern trainees who have completed a three-year training course in 14 industries under consideration would be able to obtain a "special skills" status of residence and become regular workers. Meanwhile, she neither receives annuity nor has been covered by any insurance policy whatsoever. You said they have almost no time to rest, even on weekends, adding that the owner shows little respect for foreign workers, desperately forcing them to work even longer to increase output. In 2017, the top five sending countries for TITP trainees were Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. In 2018 the U.S. Department of State severely criticized the program in its annual report on human trafficking, saying that cases of forced labor were occurring within the TITP, and that it had "effectively become a guest-worker program. 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The key, however, lies in a deeper awareness of human rights among the companies and other parties that are accepting these workers. Construction workers … (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Government officials said they have uncovered secret cross-border agreements related to … "The boss didn't care about us at all," recalled a young Chinese man surnamed Chen, who has returned to China after working as a trainee in a clothing factory in Kumamoto in western Japan for three years. Several Japanese organizations and politicians have demanded the Technical Intern Training Program to be abolished, among them Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ), the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), as well as the current Minister for Defense, Tarō Kōno (LDP). The Japanese Ministry of Justice said recently that among these foreign workers, some 85,000 are Chinese. "We couldn't have a life there. ", One former Japanese immigration control worker reflected, "The system was allowed to operate haphazardly, and it ended up bringing shame on the country.". Japan has a high rate of dependence on Asian countries for the supply of workers (for all intents and purposes immigrants) and this is expected to remain unchanged in the future. Technical Intern Training Program allows technical intern trainees to acquire and master the skills of the Japanese industries and professions under the employment relationship for a maximum period of 5 years. The government stresses that it will not make the same mistakes as with the technical trainee system that has been hit with criticism. The contracts between the three men and the Japanese firm only said that they would be working on “formwork installation and reinforcing steel placements,” and did not give any detailed explanation of the decontamination work. The maximum period of time is 5 years, and the training is carried out based on a technical training plan. Inside the workshop, her job is to process interior parts for vehicles. In 2014, the group opened a Japanese school. Officially, it claims to bring in interns from developing countries and help them acquire technical skills they can bring back to their homelands to contribute to local economic development. GIFU PREFECTURE/HIGASHIOSAKA, Osaka -- "I can't hold anything with my dominant hand any more. "You know what, the boss even forbids us to go to the toilet within the first hour of our work.". We could only visit the supermarkets supervised by the Japanese foreman. Tokyo first introduced the program in 1993. And these three men are not alone. ILO/SKILLS-AP/JAPAN Technical Workshop and Study Programme on Skills Training in ... ILO/SKILLS-AP/JAPAN Technical Workshop and Study Programme on Skills Training in the Workplace. In November 2017 legislation to improve the system came into force, tightening monitoring of employers. Trainees under the Technical Intern Training Program (Care Worker) 7. Under the Technical Intern Training program which was introduced in 1993, interns from developing countries have been accepted by Japanese firms nominally to help them acquire job skills, but many cases have been reported of trainees being subjected to illegally long work hours and not being paid proper wages. The practice of malicious firms forcing trainees to work for long hours and low pay emerged as a social problem. TITP (Technical Intern Training Program) program is run by Japanese government that facilitates international workers to work for up to 5 years in Japan and learn Japanese way of working. Japan’s Immigration Problem 2 Another factor in this area is the importance of building and maintaining good relations with Asian countries. Last June, Japan's Labor Ministry inspected 5,173 workplaces across the country. Tian's factory is tiny with only a total of seven workers -- three Chinese, three Cambodians and one Japanese. This has sparked severe concerns that many may have remained in Japan to make a living as black market laborers. Lu Pengren, a Chinese living in Japan who has many trainee friends from China, told Xinhua that many trainees were maliciously placed under surveillance cameras, both at work and in their dorms. Trainees under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) 6. The company has about 150 employees, of which over 60 percent are foreign nationals hailing from 11 countries. The Japanese Industrial Training Program (ITP) and Technical Internship Program (TIP) aim at human resource development that contributes to industrial development in individual countries through the transfer of Japanese industrial and professional knowledge, skills and technical expertise by accepting many young and middle-aged workers from other countries into Japan. Japan's promise to help developing economies train their own skilled workers has been proved to be largely deceptive: In an island nation with its workforce rapidly aging, many Japanese companies have turned to the intern system for cheap foreign labor. We were even denied access to electric blankets," Chen told Xinhua. Observers say this is another sign that the technical intern program -- long criticized by rights groups at home and abroad as akin to slavery -- is seriously flawed. It has been pointed out that this would run counter to the aim of the TITP of trainees passing on skills to their own countries. The stories of Tian and You are sad, shocking and alarming. "I'm supposed to be a 'technical trainee,' but I wasn't given the chance to study and I couldn't even earn any money," he says with a frustrated expression. Local news outlet The Japan Times said in a report in October last year that a record 5,803 foreign trainees went missing in 2015 while working in Japan, adding that among them 3,116 were Chinese, followed by 1,705 from Vietnam, 336 from Myanmar, 250 from Indonesia and 102 from Nepal. The contracts the trainees received were mostly unfair, and some companies even took the contracts away. 2018.5.30 NEWS. 2018.2.16 NEWS "It's because they're assertive and are of top caliber. Supervising organizations that accept technical intern trainees also require information about sending organizations. However, it began to devolve into a method to secure cheap labor, slipping through Japan's national policy of not accepting foreign laborers. Yet despite such a heavy work load, her wages and overtime pay are a pittance, roughly half the amount Japanese workers are paid for doing similar work. However, under planned revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, technical trainees will be able to apply for a "category 1" residence status for laborers with certain knowledge and experience. “N3” is required in the second year) • Requirement of the technical intern training instructors (certified care worker, etc.) Shipbuilding workers under the Foreign Shipbuilding Workers Acceptance Program (FSWAP) 8. Intern's application for this year has closed. Japan’s steadily declining native workforce has created a dependence on low-skilled foreign labor. The Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) was created to enhance the economic development of countries participating in the program through the generation of new employment opportunities. 1. Japan rolled out the Technical Intern Training Program in 1993 with the aim of transferring skills to developing countries. To the greatest degree possible, the company has workers from the same country live together. But while doing cardboard pasting work in July 2016, his right hand got caught in a machine, and was severely injured. JITCO also cooperates with governmental contacts for the countries sending trainees in order to run the program properly. As she spoke, the other technical trainees around the table smiled. Also, as their visas usually tie them to a particular company, they cannot change jobs even when they feel bad about their bosses. The technical trainee program has been expanded to accept workers in 77 job categories, and as of June this year, the number of technical trainees totaled 285,776. Shipbuilding workers under the Foreign Shipbuilding Workers Acceptance Program (FSWAP) 8. FY2018 "Japan internship program" landing page is now open! Asia-Pacific regional meeting and study programme on skills training in the workplace in Japan. The program has been criticized as having drifted from its purported purpose of making an international contribution, and as having been used to compensate for a worker shortage. The Chinese national's eyes grew misty as he stared at his right hand. Unable to find work in China, Huang came to Japan as a technical trainee in December 2015, joining a company in central Japan that produced cardboard boxes. Now, as she has been trapped in an endless cycle of forced overtime, that dream has become a nightmare. Though interns of the program coming to Japan are promised to be protected by Japan's labor laws and minimum wages, the Japanese employers have exploited such foreigners since they are not familiar with the legal rules, not to mention helplessness when it comes to availing themselves of the legal system in Japan to defend their rights. "In these times, the firm couldn't make do without foreign workers. Of those, 3,695 were found to be in breach of foreign labor standards, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. A Vietnamese technical intern works in a greenhouse for tomatoes. This, in turn, has created a vulnerable foreign workforce at risk for suffering myriad labor abuses. Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) has attracted hundreds of thousands of workers over the past ten years , primarily from other Asian countries. Housekeeper under Japan’s Program for National Strategic Special Zones (NSSZ) 4. Japan's Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) started in 1993 as a way to "transfer the nation's technology to developing countries." Japan. Companies should step up to match the social situation," a public relations official for the firm said. Trainees under the Technical Intern Training Program (Care Worker) 7. Sankyo MFG Co. Ltd., a metallic cutting company in the western Japan city of Higashiosaka, is among those firms. It rented out a three-story apartment as the women's dorm. Of these, 34 are technical trainees. Summers and winters were the hardest because two people shared only one electric fan in summer and we didn't have any heating devices in winter because the boss wouldn't allow them. I can't imagine the future," lamented 26-year-old technical trainee Huang Shihu. The Sending Organization will act as an intermediary with Supervising Organizations for candidates who wish to undertake Technical Intern Training in Japan. "Our workforce is shrinking ... We cannot grow rice or build the roads all by ourselves. 2019.4.24 NEWS. If Huang returned home, the 600,000 yen loan he had taken out to travel to Japan would go to waste. The program has been plagued with problems, from workplace accidents to unfair dismissal, power harassment and the disappearance of interns. Copyright THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. "Everyone at work is kind and the work is fun," said 23-year-old Sushma Sigdel, who came to Japan from Nepal 2 1/2 years ago. It was reported that in the first half of this year, 4,279 trainees disappeared from their places of employment. "We want trainees to return home with money, language skills, and opportunities," Matsumoto says. Type: Workshop: When: 1 - 5 February 2010: Where: Chiba, Japan: Countries are finding it … Yet they only represent two of tens of thousands of other Chinese trainees working in Japan on the intern program. TOKYO/BEIJING - Tian is a Chinese woman in her forties who dreamt of learning valuable skills and making real money in Japan. She also prefers not to have her full name made public. Tian is from Northwest China's Gansu province and, fearing retaliation from her revelations, prefers her full name not to be made public. We couldn't go outside the factory alone. War Nu had come to Japan under its Technical Intern Training Program or TITP, a long-established program designed to ease the country’s chronic labor … Overseas sending organizations that send technical intern trainees to Japan require information about Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program, supervising organizations, and other such aspects of the program. Therefore, we need foreign friends to help us," said Inotoru, a lawyer in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo. "We have to work unbearably long hours everyday," she told Xinhua. When we met Chinese on the way, we were even not allowed to greet them," recalled Chen, sobbing. Become a Sending Organization NSDC will keep initiating processes to identify and onboard credible and competent organizations at … 2018.7.1 NEWS. We started receiving entry for interns. At this moment, we have some information to convert your current Technical Intern Training Program visa or student visa to Specified Skilled Worker visa: If you are currently Technical Intern who have stayed in Japan for more than 2 years and 10 months already with the visa, here is some information for you. At the same time, there are firms that have started to pay more attention to technical trainees' working conditions. Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) has attracted hundreds of thousands of workers over the past ten years, primarily from other Asian countries. Construction workers … We were prohibited from making any friends. Almost two and a half years ago, she came to work in a manufacturing factory in a landlocked prefecture in central Japan, under a government-sponsored program called Technical Intern Training Program with a three-year contract. Overseas Performing Artists /Entertainers (OPAs) 5. The trainee was pressured to leave the company, but he refused. Housekeeper under Japan’s Program for National Strategic Special Zones (NSSZ) 4. The women received 18 days of Japanese language training in Osaka. This is achieved through the internship program (which can be anywhere from one year to a maximum of 5 years) and through On-the-Job Training (OJT). The company then threatened to "call the police" on him. Even so, the Japanese government plans to further expand the trainee program as Japan's population continues to age and shrink. He took his worries to a shelter operated by a labor union in Gifu Prefecture. It was reasoned that any violations could greatly damage the company's brand image, even if they occurred at a company operating under a manufacturing license. Worker ) 7, a metallic cutting company in the same time, there 2. Sending organizations JavaScript is deactivated on your browser they only represent two of tens of thousands other. Yet they only represent two of tens of thousands of other Chinese working! 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