Japan enacts controversial law to accept foreign workers

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’ s ruling coalition early Saturday rammed through legislation to bring more blue -collar foreign workers into the country , in a controversial move to address chronic labour shortages .The bill was enacted after the upper house gave approval despite a raft of criticism by opposition parties following its passage through the lower house in late November . Both chambers are controlled by Abe’ s ruling camp .

Under the new system , the government plans to bring in as many as 345 , 000 foreign workers in construction , food services , nursing and other designated sectors for five years .

“ We aim at starting it in April next year because we need to swiftly launch the new system in order to deal with the current labour shortage , ” Abe told parliament on Thursday .

But opposition parties claimed that the law fails to address the potential impact on Japanese society of new foreign labour , and does not protect foreign workers ’ rights .

In a bid to block its passage , opposition parties submitted censure motions against Abe and Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita , but they were easily rejected by the ruling bloc .

The law allows foreign nationals with skills in sectors facing particularly severe shortages to obtain five -year visas , which would not allow them to bring their families .

Foreign workers in those fields who hold stronger qualifications and pass a more difficult Japanese language test will be able to obtain a visa that can be extended indefinitely , eventually leading to residency , and will be able to bring over family .

But there have been questions about whether an influx of foreign workers will depress wages , how the workers will be incorporated into Japan ’ s social security system , and worries about exploitation of migrant labour .

Many of Japan ’ s low- skilled foreign workers are in the country under a so-called “ technical training ” programme , which has repeatedly faced allegations of abuse .

“ We should not create a new system hastily without reviewing the technical training programme in which problems are mounting , ” Yoshifu Arita, an opposition lawmaker , told parliament .

Businesses have long lobbied for looser immigration rules, saying they struggle to find workers in a country where unemployment hovers around 2 . 5 percent .

The chronic labour shortages are only worsening as Japan ’ s ageing and shrinking population means a declining pool of workers .

( AFP )

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