Rise of Foreign Workers in Japan: The Future Dominance of Indonesians and Vietnamese

Rise of Foreign Workers in Japan: The Future Dominance of Indonesians and Vietnamese

2024-03-19 21:03:32

There have been significant changes in the group of foreigners working in Japan. Compared with 5 years ago, Indonesians have gained momentum and their number has increased to 2.9 times, and they are likely to become the protagonist in the future. Among foreigners working in Japan, Chinese had the largest number five years ago, but they were overtaken by Vietnamese in 2023. Changes in wage levels and exchange rates in various countries may affect the attractiveness of working in Japan in the future.

Survey results released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare at the end of October every year show that the total number of foreign workers in 2023 will be 2,048,675, an increase of 40.3% from 2018. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, growth will slow down following 2020, but as the epidemic subsides, it will increase by 12.4% in 2023 compared with 2022.

  

Among foreigners currently working in Japan, Vietnamese account for the largest number, reaching 518,364, an increase of 63.6% from 2018. Utilizing Japan’s technical intern training system to transfer technology to emerging countries, Vietnamese have established pathways to Japan, and the number of people employed in Japan has increased. During this period, the Chinese grew by only 2.3%. One factor is that as wages in China rise and the yen depreciates, working in Japan becomes less attractive to Chinese.

The number of Vietnamese working in Japan will increase by 12.1% in 2023 compared with 2022, which is in line with the overall average. Local wages in Vietnam have begun to rise, and Japan has also begun to raise wages. A survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare shows that the stipulated salary of technical interns, half of whom are Vietnamese, will be 177,800 yen (approximately RMB 8,569.43) in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 8%.

It is the Indonesians whose growth momentum exceeds that of the Vietnamese. It will reach 121,507 people in 2023, an increase of 192.2% compared with 2018 and an increase of 56.0% compared with 2022. Indonesians actively took advantage of the specific skills system created by Japan in 2019 for industries with labor shortages, accounting for 56% of the quota. Due to low domestic wages in Indonesia, working in Japan remains attractive. From the perspective of different industries, Indonesians are the largest in Japan’s manufacturing industry, accounting for 35%, followed by the construction industry, accounting for 19%. Indonesians have also entered Japan to work in a wide range of industries such as welfare and catering.

PERSOL Global Workforce (located in Minato-ku, Tokyo), a subsidiary of PERSOL Holdings, a large Japanese human resources company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with local educational institutions in Indonesia to attract agricultural talents, and will use a specific skills system to attract talents starting in 2023. Indonesia has proposed the goal of becoming the “World’s Grain Repository” and is promoting the cultivation of agricultural talents. In order to absorb technology, Indonesia continues to send talents to the agricultural frontline across Japan. In addition to direct employment by farmers, the company also “dispatches agricultural talents to various production areas during the busy farming season” (the company).

Foreigners from various countries are working on Japan’s agricultural front lines

  

Motoki Tsube, president of Mynavi Global (located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), which engages in foreign employment business, said: “Indonesia has a population of 270 million and has huge potential. Its presence in the Japanese labor market may exceed that of Vietnam in the future.” .

In 2023, the number of Nepalis in Japan will also increase by 78.5% compared with 2018, reaching 145,587. The characteristic is that the proportion of international students is 41.7%, which is higher than other countries. From a national perspective, many Nepalis have close ties with their families and like to bring their families to Japan. This may be the main reason for the increase in the number of people in the future. The number of people in Myanmar classified as “other countries and regions” surged in 2018, reaching 71,188, an increase of 49.9% over the previous year. Due to the unstable political situation, many Burmese people have applied to go abroad, and Burmese talents who have graduated from universities and have higher education levels have gone to Japan to look for jobs.

The number of people coming to work in Japan from developed countries with a large number of high-end talents has been growing slowly. There will be 34,861 Americans working in Japan in 2023, an increase of 5.7% from 2018, and 12,945 British people, an increase of 5.8%. The influencing factors are the stagnation of the Japanese economy and the depreciation of the yen, which have led to a decrease in wages. Robert Walters Japan (located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), a large British talent agency, said: “Compared with European and American cities, the price level in Japanese cities is low, and some people choose Japan from the perspective of convenience of life.” The company also stated that it will continue to vigorously introduce Japanese companies in the future.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Chinese version: Nikkei Chinese website) Akinobu Subuchi

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