Challenges for Foreign Traineeship Programs in Japan

Notes from Challenges for Foreign Traineeship Programs in Japan by Yasushi Iguchi.

1. In the early 1990's Japan was accepting about 40,000 trainees a year. About 25% of these trainees were funded by the government. The rest were private.

2. Out of the OECD countries, this means Japan had far more trainees than any other country. For example, the next highest number would be at about 20,000 for Germany. The UK and America have far less, ranging from 3000 to 5000 any given year. Why are there so many trainees in Japan?

3. Article notes that trainees cannot be accompanied by their families.

4. Article notes trainee programs first started in the 1960s when multinational corporations with headquarters in Japan, wanted to train local workers from other countries in Japan. This seems perfectly sensible to me.

5. Article notes four main reasons for trainees in multinational corporation case. - i. basic education - ii. teach knowledge on specific products and processes - iii. encourage long term commitment - iv. encourage a linkage between R&D in home country, and production in foreign country.

6. Quote: "September 1990 saw the deregulation of arrangements for traineeship programs in small and medium-size enterprises that do not have any affiliates or joint ventures overseas. It is now possible for them to accept foreign trainees through intermediary bodies such as chambers of commerce, local employers' associations and certain legally recognized non-profit organizations. The number of trainees such firms can have is up to five percent of the number of regular employees the enterprise hires."

7. For trainees of small or medium size firms, there is no guarantee of work upon returning home.

8. "Some foreign trainees might become "disguised" workers able to earn more than the training allowances currently paid in Japan. Some Japanese companies accept trainees simply to secure a workforce in occupations Japanese people are not willing to do (Japan Institute of Labour 1997a; Hanami and Kuwahara 1995; Kajita 1993; and Tezuka and Komai 1992)."

9. In the case of Chinese workers, China monitors the workers progress closely, and offers employment when they return.

10. "The cost of accepting foreign trainees through intermediary organizations is not insignificant. According to a study by the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO), the initial cost of accepting a foreign trainee is ¥510,000. About 80 percent of this initial cost is to cover accommodations and expenses involved with sending their mission to Asia. The on-going cost of having a foreign trainee for one year is ¥1.79 million. That figure includes ¥1.08 million for the training allowance, about ¥70,000 for travel to Japan, ¥60,000 for utilities and ¥20,000 for off-the-job training. On the average, individual companies pay ¥1.27 million and the intermediary body pays ¥520,000 (JITCO 1997b)."

11. Here it notes that the Technical Intern Traineeship Program was explicitly to obtain foreign labor. "The introduction of the TITP was thus conceived as an alternative means of widening legal channels for accepting foreign workers while tightening the controls on illegal workers."