Whether Japan should continue to accept more foreign workers or curb its foreign labor intake has become a key issue in the July 20 House of Councillors election amid concerns among the public over crimes and other incidents caused by some foreigners.
The number of foreign residents in the country topped 3.7 million by the end of last year, marking a record high, after the Japanese government increased admissions of foreign workers in response to severe labor shortages due to population decline.
New gov’t body launched amid election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced at a meeting of cabinet ministers July 8, after the start of the official campaign period for the election for the upper chamber of parliament, that his government will set up early next week an organization at the Cabinet Secretariat that will serve as the control tower for policies related to foreign residents.
“We will promote various policies comprehensively to realize an orderly, symbiotic society,” Ishiba said.
It is unusual for the government to set up a new organization in the campaign period for a national election.
The move is apparently aimed at displaying to voters the government’s policy approach to dealing with crimes and other problems associated with the influx of foreign workers.
Japan’s working-age population, comprising people aged 15 to 64, peaked in 1995 at 87.26 million people and has since been on the decline.
Amid a growing sense of crisis, the government made a policy shift in 2019 to accept more foreign workers with the introduction of a visa system for workers with specified skills.
In 2027, the government is set to launch the Employment for Skill Development program for foreigners, which will replace the existing technical intern program.
The number of foreign workers in Japan has shot up as a result under the current regime, exceeding 2.3 million in 2024. As the government plans to continue expanding admissions, foreigners are expected to make up over 10 pct of the country’s total population in 2067.
Meanwhile, cases of inappropriate use of the country’s social security system by foreigners have been reported, in addition to incidents and accidents involving foreign people.
Parties highlighting restrictive policies
The establishment of the new government body reflects the prime minister’s fear that conservative support for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party may be eroding.
In last month’s election for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly, Sanseito picked up significant support by advocating a “Japanese First” policy.
The party is campaigning on opposition to “excessive acceptance of foreigners” in the Upper House poll, seeking to curb the number of unskilled foreign workers.
In response, the LDP has released a pledge for “zero illegal foreigners,” calling for adopting stricter screenings for people seeking to convert driver’s licenses issued abroad to Japanese ones.
Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner, has followed suit, vowing to promote a plan to reduce the number of illegal residents to zero.
The opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) stated in its campaign pledges that it would “curb the rise in the proportion of foreigners and regulate the total number of people to be accepted.”
Reiwa Shinsengumi has expressed opposition to welcoming foreign immigrants, while the Conservative Party of Japan has called for “correcting the country’s loose immigration policy.”
On the other hand, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party are advocating for a society in which citizens live harmoniously with foreign residents, based on the premise that Japan will continue to accept foreign labor.
The CDP vows to realize the enactment of a basic law for a multicultural, symbiotic society. The JCP stresses that it would not tolerate xenophobia, while the SDP says it would not exclude immigrants and refugees.
“The xenophobia emerging in Western countries has started to spread to Japan,” an expert said.
Amid such concerns, the Democratic Party for the People revised its initial pledge of “reviewing the excessive preferential treatment of foreigners” to “optimizing the implementation of various systems applied to foreigners.” (PNA)