(Press-News.org)
Japan grapples with labor shortage due to low birth rates and an aging population, prompting recent governments to bring in more foreign workers. Under the leadership of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, significant immigration reforms were introduced between 2012 and 2020, aiming to alleviate these challenges by increasing the foreign population. However, despite these efforts, the government has continued to uphold the long-standing status quo of not having a formal immigration policy, mainly to balance business and nationalist interests.
This status quo originated with Japan's 1990 immigration system, which recruited highly skilled foreign workers and denied entry for unskilled workers. However, Japan created ‘side-door’ policies, such as the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and visas for descendants of Japanese emigrants, to admit unskilled foreign workers to address labor shortage while upholding its immigration status quo.
In this vein, Mr. Maximilien Xavier Rehm, a Ph.D. candidate from the Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, investigated whether Abe’s reforms have propelled Japan toward becoming a ‘country of immigration’—a country with a formal immigration policy—without openly admitting it. His research, made available online on October 09, 2024 in Japan Forum, assesses whether these incremental reforms have led to long-term changes in Japan’s immigration trajectory.
Rehm highlights his motivation for the study, “I have been living in Japan for nearly ten years, where I completed my M.A. and am now in the final stages of my PhD. As a foreigner here, I care about Japan's success in addressing demographic challenges and the well-being of foreign residents. While my experiences do not bias my academic analysis, they inspired me to research Japan's migration policy.”
To this end, Rehm used a specific incrementalist approach, known as the mechanisms of institutional change, from the field of historical institutionalism to analyze how institutions like laws and policies gradually evolve and eventually change the status quo through two mechanisms: ‘layering’ (adding new rules to existing ones) and ‘displacement’ (gradually replacing old rules with new ones). To support his analysis, Rehm gathered information from government-released data, policy proposals, and whitepapers.
Rehm found that Abe’s immigration reforms led to incremental (small and gradual) changes rather than fundamental or big changes in Japan’s immigration status quo. For instance, reforms like the 2017 Technical Training Act, the 2018 decision to admit 4th generation Japanese emigrants, and the 2019 Specified Skilled Worker 1 (SSW1) system have expanded foreign labor pathways. However, they largely maintain the status quo and fail to address structural issues. While some reforms, such as the 2012 Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) system, the 2017 Nursing Care residence status, and the 2019 SSW2 residence status, could eventually replace existing immigration systems, their full impact is yet to be seen.
Despite these limitations, Abe’s tenure saw a notable increase in Japan’s foreign population, driven by the expanded use of activity-based visas, which restrict workers to specific sectors. Although new activity-based visas, such as SSW2 and HSP, offer some benefits, like the possibility of permanent residency, most foreign workers still come through restrictive visas as technical interns or working students. Overall, Japan's immigration system continues to rely on the old ‘side-door’ pathways from the 1990s to admit foreign workers, especially low-skilled ones.
Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s term from 2021 to 2024, Japan’s immigration policy has continued to follow the framework set by Abe, with a potential shift in the horizon. However, the possible replacement of the TITP with a similar system in 2027 and the expansion of the SSW system indicate a slow transition toward ‘front-door’ pathways for foreign workers of all skill levels. Rehm firmly says, “Abe’s reforms did not fundamentally change Japan’s immigration status quo, but they have set the stage for Japan to potentially evolve into a ‘country of immigration’ in the short to medium term.”
These findings are valuable for political scientists, media, and foreigners in Japan. Rehm emphasizes, “Any prediction about the future is uncertain, if my analysis is correct or influences policymakers, policy outcomes for foreigners in Japan could improve in the next 5 to 10 years.”
To conclude, Rehm's research holds promise for those hoping to see Japan tackle its demographic challenges by adopting a more comprehensive and formal immigration policy, ultimately contributing to a more diverse and sustainable society.
About Maximilien Xavier Rehm from Doshisha University, Japan
Maximilien Xavier Rehm is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, Japan. He received an M.A. in International Relations from Ritsumeikan University. He has extensively researched Japanese politics, particularly migration and foreign policy, resulting in numerous publications. Rehm was a teaching assistant for courses on Islam and Cultural Pluralism and Immigration and Refugee Studies. In November 2022, he won the Association of Global Studies Conference Presentation Award for his compelling work on Japan's immigration policy. He is also a member of several prestigious organizations, including the European Association for Japanese Studies and the Japanese Association for Migration Studies. More information on Mr. Rehm can be obtained at www.mxrehm.com.
Funding information
This work was partly supported by JST, the establishment of university fellowships towards the creation of science technology innovation, Grant Number JPMJFS2145. The author declares no conflict of interest.
Media contact:
Organization for Research Initiatives & Development
Doshisha University
Kyotanabe, Kyoto 610-0394, JAPAN
E-mail:jt-ura@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
END
Far from the stereotype of low-wage, low-skill positions, hospitality and tourism jobs could be powerful launchpads for broader career success, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. Researchers believe that working in these roles cultivates a wealth of transferable skills that can lead to lucrative opportunities in sectors like finance, healthcare, and technology.
In a study published in the Annals of Tourism Research, a team led by Dr Brigitte Stangl identified 116 unique transferable skills that employees gain while working in these sectors, highlighting the industry’s role as a vital training ground for essential skills.
The study found that employees ...
Lobbying can help companies reduce costs related to product recall, but it can also have a negative impact on the firm’s image. Research published in Strategic Management Journal offers clear data on the phenomenon, suggesting that managers should pay careful attention to the reputational cues from the media to determine when lobbying may be problematic and to refrain from the practice.
Firms can use lobbying to influence the government, which in turn potentially limits their costs during product recall crises. Previous research has shown that when a firm increases its lobbying spending by approximately $417,014, which has been found to ...
The origin of many diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's can be found at the molecular level in our body, in other words, in proteins. In a healthy system, these proteins are responsible for numerous physiological functions. In order to carry out certain tasks, they may also assemble in groups consisting of numerous proteins. Once that job is done, they split up again and go their own ways. However, if larger clusters of a hundred or more proteins form so-called fibrils, which are bundles of long, filament-like accumulations of proteins, the ...
Young people’s mental health may depend on how they use social media, rather than how much time they spend using it, according to a new study by University of B.C. researchers.
The research, led by psychology professor Dr. Amori Mikami (she/her) and published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, examined the effects of quitting social media versus using it more intentionally.
The results showed that users who thoughtfully managed their online interactions, as well as those who abstained from social media entirely, saw mental health benefits—particularly in reducing symptoms ...
A new study highlights how some marine life could face extinction over the next century, if human-induced global warming worsens.
The research, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature, compares for the first time how tiny ocean organisms called plankton responded, when the world last warmed significantly in ancient history with what is likely to happen under similar conditions by the end of our century.
Findings revealed the plankton were unable to keep pace with the current speed of temperature rises, putting huge swathes ...
Researchers have developed an AI powered model that — in 10 seconds — can determine during surgery if any part of a cancerous brain tumor that could be removed remains, a study published in Nature suggests.
The technology, called FastGlioma, outperformed conventional methods for identifying what remains of a tumor by a wide margin, according to the research team led by University of Michigan and University of California San Francisco.
“FastGlioma is an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic system that has the potential to change the field of neurosurgery ...
About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of adults hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before the 2023 introduction of RSV vaccines, RSV was associated with substantial burden of hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and in-hospital deaths in adults, with the highest rates occurring in adults 75 years or older. Increasing RSV vaccination of older adults has the potential to reduce associated hospitalizations and severe clinical outcomes.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Fiona P. Havers, MHS, MD, email fhavers@cdc.gov.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...
About The Study: Among patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and comorbid obesity/type 2 diabetes, the use of semaglutide and liraglutide were associated with a substantially decreased risk of hospitalization due to AUD. This risk was lower than that of officially approved AUD medications. Semaglutide and liraglutide may be effective in the treatment of AUD, and clinical trials are urgently needed to confirm these findings.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Markku Lähteenvuo, MD, PhD, email markku.lahteenvuo@uef.fi.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...
Reliable crop yields fueled the rise of human civilizations. As people embraced a new way of life, cultivated plants, too, had to adapt to the needs of their domesticators. There are different adaptive requirements in a wild compared to an arable habitat. Crop plants and their wild progenitors differ, for example, in how many vegetative branches they initiate or how many seeds or fruits they produce and when.
A common concern among crop conservationists is dangerously reduced genetic diversity in cultivated plants. But crop evolution needs not be a unidirectional loss of diversity. “Our panel of 1,000 plant genetic ...
Researchers at Oxford University have developed a new method to extract fluorine from fluorspar (CaF₂) using oxalic acid and a fluorophilic Lewis acid in water under mild reaction conditions.
This technology enables direct access to fluorochemicals, including commonly used fluorinating agents, from both fluorspar and lower-grade metspar, eliminating reliance on the supply chain of hazardous hydrogen fluoride (HF).
The findings are published today in the journal Nature.
Currently, all fluorochemicals – critical for many industries – are generated from the highly dangerous mineral acid ...