As labour-strapped Japan faces a growing exodus of foreign workers due to low wages and other employment challenges, some companies are working overtime to keep them from leaving.
Eat & Holdings Inc., a manufacturer and seller of frozen foods is among a growing number of businesses relying on their foreign workforce and taking significant steps to retain them, as finding suitable hires has become a top priority.
By offering furnished rental homes, Japanese language assistance and affordable access to its many cafeterias, the firm aims to ensure its “valued” foreign workers feel “perfectly safe and comfortable” staying on the job for as long as possible.
“We make sure we help foreign workers whenever be it medical or financial issues or anything. We want to always be there to resolve any problem at an early stage. Their first impression of our company is very important,” said Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang from Vietnam, who works in the human resources section of the food company, operator of the “Osaka Ohsho” gyoza dumpling chain.
She is part of the team assisting over 370 foreign workers at the company, representing seven countries. These include technical trainees and holders of the “Specified Skilled Worker” visa, introduced by Japan in 2019, which allows them to work in designated industries without prior training.
The company offers generous financial allowances, including a monthly stipend for workers who pass a Japanese language test, substantial support for housing rentals and coverage for food expenses to help offset the rising cost of living due to inflation.
The company also emphasises motivating foreign workers to enhance their skills and pass the exams for the Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 visa, which permits up to five years of residency. It further encourages progression to the No. 2 visa, which offers unlimited renewals, opens the path to permanent residency and allows workers to bring their spouses and children to Japan.
The company’s efforts have paid off, with 16 out of 18 applicants successfully passing the exams in October 2024, earning them the No. 2 visa in the food and beverage manufacturing industries.
Among them is a 32-year-old Vietnamese employee at the company’s plant in Itakura, Gunma Prefecture, who asked to be identified by her family name, Nguyen. She acknowledged the challenges of studying but expressed her desire to “contribute to the company as long as possible,” adding, “Everybody has been very helpful to me since I joined.”
Nguyen came to Japan as a foreign trainee in 2016 after graduating from a university in Vietnam, aspiring to learn more about Japanese culture. She worked at another food company for three years before joining Eat & Holdings, attracted by its higher wages and good reputation, which she had heard about from her compatriots.
After passing the exam in October, Nguyen, who commutes to and from the factory on her motorcycle, says she is now motivated to take on new challenges. “I am now studying for the N1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test,” said Nguyen with a smile, referring to the most difficult level of the standardised language proficiency exam.
As Japan faces acute labour shortages, legislation was enacted in June 2024 to replace the controversial foreign trainee programme with a new system by 2027. The new system explicitly aims to foster and secure foreign talent.
The foreign trainee programme has faced widespread criticism for harsh working conditions and human rights abuses, with many employers accused of exploiting the system to secure cheap labour.
Participants in the new programme are expected to acquire the skills necessary to transition to the specified skilled worker programme within three years. They will also be allowed to transfer jobs after one or two years at their initial workplace.
The fields eligible to work under the specified skilled worker visa were expanded to 16 in March 2024, including road and railway transportation and the forestry and timber sectors.
Japan plans to admit up to 820,000 foreign nationals under its skilled worker visa over the next five fiscal years starting in April 2024, more than double the number initially projected for the five years through fiscal 2023.
As more companies seek to hire foreign workers, Motoki Yuzuriha, president of Mynavi Global Corp. — a registered support organisation assisting over 4,000 specified skilled workers at more than 690 companies — emphasised that employers must remain vigilant about trends and factors that could discourage workers from staying on the job.
“Our survey found that the reasons why skilled foreign workers leave jobs differ according to the industry sector, nationality and also for the employment period at the company,” Yuzuriha said.
A nationwide survey conducted by the Tokyo-based firm over one year through June 2024, covering three sectors and 350 skilled foreign workers who quit their jobs, revealed that “wage dissatisfaction” was the top reason for leaving among Vietnamese respondents.
However, among Indonesian and Myanmar respondents, “human relationships” were the primary factor, with communication issues with Japanese employees, rather than with their compatriots or workers from other countries, particularly affecting their desire to continue working, the poll showed.
The survey also revealed that the percentage of respondents who quit after 10 to 12 months at a company was the highest, at 25.4%, but dropped sharply to 12.6% after one year.
“The result suggests that if companies succeed in retaining workers for 12 months, they are likely to stay on the job,” Yuzuriha said, emphasising the importance of providing necessary support to foreign workers, particularly in the early stages after recruitment.
Yuzuriha also hinted at more long-term challenges surrounding skilled foreign workers as they also cite “marriage, pregnancy or family issues back home” as reasons for quitting their jobs.
“Family-related reasons are a major cause of resignation but are issues that cannot be easily resolved solely by a firm’s efforts. It is rather an agenda that the local municipality may also need to get involved in, such as by providing adequate education or child-care support to foreigners,” Yuzuriha said. – Kyodo News
