JAPAN - MIGRATION IN 2000

Throughout the year 2000, the Japanese economy had a mixed performance. Although the industrial production index and inventories rose, it was less than expected. In the meantime, the trade surplus shrunk as imports increased. The stock market declined 45 percent from March to December and GDP growth dwindled after a promising first quarter. The unemployment rate remained at 4.8 percent and  bankruptcies continued. After a decade of lackluster performance – in spite of various measures – the Japanese economy failed to really take off.

In the meantime, demographic trends indicate that Japan will need to import more workers in the future. Its labor force of 87 million in 1995 will shrink to 57 million in 2050, according to a UN study. Therefore, to sustain the current level of labor force Japan will need to import 33 million workers in the next 50 years, or approximately 660,000 every year. At the beginning of the year, foreign residents were 1.55 million (1.2 percent of the Japanese population). The largest group were the Koreans (636,000), followed by Chinese (294,000), Brazilians (224,000), Filipinos and Americans. Among them, those with a status as foreign workers were 207,093 as of June 1 2000, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year. Among them, 48 percent were from Latin America, 27 percent from East Asia and 11 percent from Southeast Asia.Foreign students in Japan also increased by 15 percent, reaching 64,011 in May 2000. Most of them were Chinese (32,297), South Koreans (12,851) and Taiwanese (4,189).

As of 1 January 2000, there were 251,697 overstayers, down by 6 percent from six months earlier. Deportees numbered 55,167 in 1999, 13 percent more than in 1998. Among overstayers, 134,082 were men and 117,615 were women. Some 24 percent came from South Korea, 14 percent  from the Philippines and 13  percent from China. The decline was attributed to the slumping economy. Irregular migration has remained an issue and reports of irregular migrants caught and deported came up throughout the year. Various initiatives were taken to fight irregular migration and the trafficking of migrants. A crackdown in the Tokyo region at the end of May led to the arrest of 1,040 irregular migrants. Most (728) were overstaying their visas, while the rest had entered Japan illegally. China and Japan agreed to cooperate against gangs that forge passports to smuggle Chinese migrants into Japan. In January, 21 overstaying foreigners and their families were allowed to stay as they had established their livelihood in the country and the children were attending Japanese schools. This episode hinted that some standards might be changed concerning the regularization of overstaying foreigners. However, it did not happen. The revision to the Immigration Control Law concerning overstayers (who will be denied re-entry for five years after being deported and would be subject to imprisonment even if they were caught after three years of overstaying) had a limited impact on overstaying foreigners. Some 13,500 reported before the 18 February deadline and were allowed to return to their country without penalties.

Discussions on the need for foreign workers came up several times during the year. In March the Justice Ministry proposed to allow foreign workers in nursing care services; trainees in agriculture, hotel services and marine product processing; foreign workers in specialized technical fields; and the expansion of the student exchange program. Asians of Japanese descent should be brought in to take care of Japan’s elderly, projected to reach 5.2 million by the year 2025. Some 350,000 home helpers and 650,000 workers in homes for the aged would be needed. Four more categories were added to the existing 55 categories under the trainee program. Also, it was suggested that interns, who can work for   two years after receiving one year of training, be given immigrant status. Trainee programs, as an interview with Indonesian trainees revealed, do not transfer technical skills. Rather, trainees are utilized as workers while receiving allowances instead of salaries. The Ministry of Justice found that 2,831 trainees have gone missing over the past six years.

While some sectors oppose the increase of immigration, business associations and people in general have become more favorable to it. A nationwide survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun in September found that 64 percent of respondents were in favor of admitting unskilled foreign workers, an increase of 8 percent over a similar survey conducted in 1989. As for irregular workers already in Japan, while 46 percent declared they should be caught and deported, 36 percent were in favor of regularizing their stay. Although 64 percent were in favor of providing migrants with social services, 60 percent were not in favor of increasing taxes to pay for such services.

In April Japan abandoned the fingerprinting of foreign residents. Only the signature is required on the identification card which must be carried at all times. In November the Liberal Democratic Party proposed a bill granting foreign permanent residents the right to vote in local elections. Koreans, who have been in Japan for a long time but who did not naturalize, are the    most likely beneficiaries of such a move.