Japan saw its biggest year-on-year jump in foreign workers since records began, government data showed yesterday, as the country seeks to address labor shortages exacerbated by its aging population.
In October last year, the nation’s foreign workforce stood at 2.3 million — an increase of around 254,000 people, or 12.4 percent, from a year earlier, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare data showed.
That marks the biggest jump since records began in 2008, and is the latest in a series of annual record-breaking increases.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The total has jumped around threefold from a decade ago, in 2014, when the number of foreign workers stood at 788,000.
The number of businesses employing at least one foreign worker also hit a record high of around 342,000, up 7.3 percent from a year ago, data showed.
Japan has the world’s second-oldest population after Monaco, according to the World Bank, and its relatively strict immigration rules mean it faces growing labor shortages. The aging nation will need 6.88 million foreign workers in 2040 to meet its growth targets, according to an estimate by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Yesterday’s data showed Vietnamese, Chinese and Filipinos were the top three nationalities in Japan’s foreign labor force. Japan also saw a surge in foreign workers from Myanmar, Indonesia and Sri Lanka last year, many of whom were blue-collar workers or students rather than high-skilled professionals.
Among the most common jobs held by foreign workers were positions in the manufacturing, hospitality and retail sectors.
A “technical intern” program continued to account for a sizeable portion of the foreign workforce, at 20.4 percent. The state-sponsored scheme is ostensibly an attempt by Japan to give participants from countries such as China and Vietnam specialized experience to use in their home countries.
However, critics have long called it a “backdoor” source of foreign labor in a conservative nation loath to officially acknowledge it is open to immigrants.
The intern program has also been long dogged by allegations of discrimination and physical abuse.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
‘LASER-FOCUSED’: Trump pledged tariffs on specific sectors, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, copper and aluminum, and perhaps even cars US President Donald Trump said he wants to enact across-the-board tariffs that are “much bigger” than 2.5 percent, the latest in a string of signals that he is preparing widespread levies to reshape US supply chains. “I have it in my mind what it’s going to be but I won’t be setting it yet, but it’ll be enough to protect our country,” Trump told reporters on Monday night. Asked about a report that incoming US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent favored starting with a global rate of 2.5 percent, Trump said he did not think Bessent supported that and would not
RSS