Care-Giver Migration to Greying Japan

Labour Markets, Care Regimes and Foreign Care Worker Policies in East Asia

“…: 798; Tsuda : 626–32). In the same year, Japan established the Industrial Training Program in order to allow Japanese companies to hire low‐skilled foreign workers, although these workers were classified not as workers, but as industrial trainees, thus excluding them from the protection of labour laws (Vogt : 333; Yamanaka : 620).…”

“…Despite the introduction of publicly‐funded long‐term elderly care in response to socio‐demographic challenges, Japan's rapidly ageing population caused serious labour shortages in the care service sector (Onuki ; Vogt ). Its labour and welfare bureaucrats did not consider hiring foreign care workers a solution to these shortages, since they regarded social care services not only as the provision of social welfare benefits, but also as job creation opportunities for native workers.…”

“…The Japanese government was uninterested in placing employment of foreign care workers on the bargaining table, but the Philippine government vehemently demanded that Japan open its long‐term care sector to Filipina nurses and care workers in return for the bilateral EPA, a demand echoed by the Indonesian government. To facilitate the signing of the EPA, Japan's economic bureaucracy – in particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry – advocated the inflow of foreign care workers to the long‐term care sector (Vogt : 17; Vogt : 341). Representing the interests of businesses, Nippon Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation) strongly supported the inflow of foreign care workers to cope with chronic labour shortages in the long‐term care sector (Suzuki : 365; Vogt : 341).…”

“…To facilitate the signing of the EPA, Japan's economic bureaucracy – in particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry – advocated the inflow of foreign care workers to the long‐term care sector (Vogt : 17; Vogt : 341). Representing the interests of businesses, Nippon Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation) strongly supported the inflow of foreign care workers to cope with chronic labour shortages in the long‐term care sector (Suzuki : 365; Vogt : 341). In addition, owners of small and medium‐sized private hospitals and nursing homes, most of which had problems in recruiting and retaining native workers, pressured the government to open Japan's doors to employing foreign care workers (Ford and Kawashima : 431).…”

“…Thus, it did not want to legalize employment of foreign care workers. Meanwhile, the JMOJ was worried about the rising social costs of immigration in the Japanese society, such as a growing number of undocumented workers and increasing crime rates (Vogt , ). Unsurprisingly, social interest groups in the care service sector (e.g.…”