News Record number of foreign interns go missing in Japan

[thomas]

Last year, a record number of foreign workers vanished from their jobs in Japan under the technical intern training program. According to government data, over 9,700 individuals disappeared, with Vietnamese making up the majority. Many of these workers were employed in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing. Experts believe that the strict rules governing the program, which limit interns' ability to switch employers, contributed to their decision to disappear.

The agency says interns can switch employers if they suffer violence or harassment or if their employer or supervisory organization commits serious and malicious legal offences. It also says that if interns fall victim to harassment or other misconduct, their fellow interns are also allowed to change their employers. The agency will also permit interns to work up to 28 hours per week when they are switching their employers. Interns cannot earn their keep as they cannot work during job transfers. The agency will also prepare foreign-language formats of necessary paperwork so interns can understand the content in their mother tongue.

Over 9,700 foreign technical interns in Japan vanished last year | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Japanese government data shows more than 9,700 foreign workers vanished from their employers under the technical intern training program last year, marking a record high.

www3.nhk.or.jp

The sources said that nearly half of the workers were involved in construction-related jobs. The revised guidelines will have a special provision for those unable to find a new employer as a trainee but wishing to switch to the specified skilled worker scheme, enabling them to temporarily work under a designated activities visa until they pass the exam required to obtain the status. The current foreign trainee program has been in place since 1993 and has been criticized as simply an avenue for Japan to import cheap labour. The government will replace the program with a new system as early as 2027 that will permit job transfers after one or two years of employment at one workplace.

Japan to address issue of foreign trainees quitting in record numbers

Japan will take measures as early as October to enable foreign trainees to transfer jobs more easily, as the number of those who quit without notice due to poor working conditions and other reasons hit a record high of 9,753 in 2023, government sources said.

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