As the global recession hits Japan’s export-driven economy, temporary workers at plants producing auto parts and electronics have been among the first to lose their jobs, with the 320,000 Brazilians living in Japan particularly vulnerable to the layoffs.
More than 800 Brazilians and their supporters took to the streets of the central Japanese city of Nagoya on Sunday, raising their green and yellow national flags and calling for secure employment, proper schooling for their children and an end to layoffs.
Paulo Kanashiro and Minoru Nishizawa, both Brazilians who have Japanese ancestry, brought their Brazilian coworkers from a Toyota subsidiary to the demonstration to demand from the Japanese government the same rights granted to Japanese workers.
“We are also paying taxes here,” 33-year-old Nishizawa of Sao Paulo said. “Why are we not eligible for the same rights?”
In December, nearly 500 Japanese temporary workers who lost their jobs because of production cuts flocked to a Tokyo park to receive free lodging and food. About 300 of them were able to receive government subsidies and temporary lodging before they began their search for a new job.
But the situation is different for Brazilians.
Often called dekasegi, or migrant workers, they are considered only temporary residents who will eventually return to their homelands.
Brazilians and other South American nationals began migrating to Japan in large numbers in search of higher paid work in 1990 when the immigration law was revised. Since then, they have dominated the manufacturing workforce.
Some still plan to return to Brazil, but for many other Brazilians, Japan has become home. Kanashiro and Nishizawa, who have lived and worked in Japan for 16 years, can’t imagine leaving Japan just because they are jobless.
Kanashiro moved to Hekinan in Aichi Prefecture from Campo Grande in Brazil with several members of his family.
“Even if we had a choice of returning to Brazil, we’d have to start from scratch there,” the 29-year-old Kanashiro said.
Workers at the Hekinan factory of a Toyota subsidiary suffered an almost 70 percent cut in their pay, Nishizawa said.
Brazilians there have worked overtime and on weekends and during holidays when their Japanese colleagues wanted off, he said.
The Brazilian migrant workers said they “contributed to the prosperity of the Japanese economy and society for more than 20 years” and to building a strong foundation for Japan’s manufacturing industry.
But the government does not see Brazilian migrant workers as deserving certain rights, Nishizawa said.
“We are treated like tissues in that we are destined to be thrown away when our job is done,” he said.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS