ASIATODAY.ID, TOKYO – Japan’s foreign workforce has seen its landscape change because of shifts in wages and exchange rates, with Vietnamese workers overtaking Chinese workers as the largest group last year while workers from Indonesia nearly tripled from 2018.
The total number of foreign workers in Japan had increased 40.3% in five years to 2.05 million as of October 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Growth slowed after COVID-19 spread worldwide in 2020. But the number of foreign workers jumped 12.4% from 2022 to 2023 as the virus faded.
Vietnamese workers made up the largest portion of the total, with their numbers increasing 63.6% in five years to 518,364. Many participate in the Technical Intern Training Program, which is designed to help transfer job-based know-how to emerging countries.
The number of Chinese workers grew just 2.3%, as rising wages at home and a weak yen eroded the appeal of working in Japan.
Inflows from Vietnam are slowing as well as wages rise there. That demographic grew 12.1% between 2022 and 2023, roughly in line with overall growth.
Japanese employers are now offering higher pay to attract workers. Monthly base pay for foreign technical interns, about half of whom are from Vietnam, grew 8% in 2022 to 177,800 yen ($1,200 at current rates).
Meanwhile, the number of Indonesian workers surged 192.2% in five years to 121,507, and 56% between 2022 and 2023.
Low wages at home mean many Indonesian workers still find Japan an attractive destination. Indonesian citizens make up 56% of Japan’s specified skilled workers, a designation created in 2019 to alleviate labor shortages in certain industries. Many work in manufacturing, construction, nursing care and food service.
Tokyo-based staffing agency Persol Global Workforce began bringing in specified skilled workers in the agricultural sector last year under an agreement with an Indonesian educational institution. Indonesia aspires to become one of the world’s leading agricultural producers, and wants to gain expertise through its citizens working in Japan.
Some workers are directly employed by individual farms. Persol also “sends agricultural workers to temporary assignments across Japan during peak season,” according to the company.
“There’s a lot of potential in Indonesia, which has a population of 270 million,” said Motoki Yuzuriha, president of work placement agency Mynavi Global. “I think it could eventually surpass Vietnam in the role it plays in Japan’s labor market.”
Workers from Nepal increased 78.5% in five years to 145,587. More than 41% are also studying in Japan — a higher percentage than in other groups.
Workers from Myanmar have also increased steeply. While there were so few in 2018 that they did not have a category in that year’s breakdown, the figure jumped 49.9% between 2022 and 2023 to 71,188. Many Myanmar nationals are seeking jobs overseas amid political unrest at home, and Japan in particular has attracted many educated workers with university degrees.
Japan’s stagnant economy and weak yen has dampened inflows from larger economies. The number of U.S. workers rose 5.7% in five years to 34,861, while those from the U.K. increased 5.8% to 12,945.
But some people choose Japan because the cost of living is cheaper than in major U.S. and European cities, according to recruitment agency Robert Walters Japan, saying it would continue to recruit people from these countries. (Source: Nikkei)
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