Liberal Japan

Reading notes for “Migration, globalization and the nation state, Japan” by Yoko Sellek, from The Political Economy of Japanese Globalization edited Hasegawa Harukiyo and Glenn D. Hook, published by Routledge, 2001.

1. Article begins: “In an increasingly globalized world, international migration has to be seen as a complement to other flows and exchanges taking place between countries. During the last two decades or so, the issue of migration has emerged as one of the most serious crises in industrialized nations. The main reason for this is that, in an era of growing economic globalization, when each state is moving towards border-free economic spaces in the world order, the flow of migrants is largely determined by a global labour market, being more or less impervious to governmental policies. It is ultimately impossible to intensify border controls to keep migrants out, so any attempts by government to restrict the entry of migrants result in the growth of an illegal foreign migrant population. The existence of illegal migrants itself demonstrates an erosion of the state’s sovereignty.”

2. Foreign migrants often stay in their new country even after the employment opportunities they sought no longer exist. They form new groups within the country that have significant impacts.

3. Japan is traditionally regarded as having a strict citizen acquisition process, and one that does not encourage immigration. “Although the number of foreign residents with alien registration permits in Japan has continued to increase, the country has the lowest proportion of foreigners of any major industrialized country, with just 1.51 million in 1998, representing only 1.20 per cent of the then total Japanese population of more than 126 million (Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau 1999b: 19).”

4. Article notes the phenomena of special residents, in particular Koreans, who born in Japan have grown up there and are socially Japanese, but do not possess citizenship. This is because of Japan’s racially exclusive policies.

5. “Employment opportunities for foreigners in Japan are strictly controlled.” Only skilled workers are allowed in. Despite this there is a growing number of unskilled workers, many not legal.

6. Quote: “This chapter addresses globalization in the migration arena using the case of contemporary Japan. Japan has participated in constructing a global economic system and has grown vastly richer partly as a result of the liberalization of capital flows and trade in goods and services. In parallel with these flows of capital and goods, however, an influx of foreign workers has emerged.”

7. While countries in Western Europe relied on foreign labor to help boost their economies in the 1960s and 1970s, Japan during the same time period used other methods to help boost production. However, since the 1980s as Japan has become increasing part of the global economy with links to many other nations, it has become a major destination for migrants.

8. Factors influencing demand for foreign unskilled labor in Japan include low birth rate, undesirability of 3D work (dirty, dangerous, and dull), both of which lead to a shortage of workers.

9. “These statistics indicate that, although there is no category that accommodates ‘unskilled workers’ in the Immigration Control Act, the reality has become such that a strong polarization exists, on the one hand, between a firm government policy dictating that only small numbers of skilled foreign labourers are to be admitted, and the presence of half a million unskilled foreign workers from Asia and South America, including nearly 270,000 illegal workers according to figures published in July 1999, on the other.”

10. There are two types of demand for workers in Japan. There are those who will bring in expertise that is not readily present in Japan, in particular, those who have skills related to the managing global businesses are wanted. On the other hand in the area of small and medium sized industrial businesses, there is an acute shortage of labor as Japanese no longer want this type of work.

11. There is also a demand for foreigners in education and local government as Japan tries to “internationalize” itself. Also, in rural areas, farmers seek Asian brides.

12. National government officials have tried to maintain their ideals of a ethnically homogenous and harmonious society, with the stark reality of a strong demand for unskilled cheap labor and a near limitless supply.

13. The government tried to resolve the dilemma above by revising immigration laws with the revise Immigration Control Act in June 1990. The idea was to be more strict towards the presence of illegal immigrants, while on the other hand creating side-door methods in which cheap unskilled labor can be brought into Japan, quasi-legally.

14. One main source of legal unskilled labor has been the Nikkeijin. Third-generation “Japanese” living in Latin America can obtain the necessary visas to work in Japan under any occupation. It was hoped that being ethnic Japanese they would be able to acclimatize better to Japan.

15. “As evidenced by the revised Immigration Control Act, the government is proactive towards the expansion of the acceptance of skilled transients in order to improve the country’s position in a globalizing economy, while it is reactive against the influx of illegal foreign workers which has, in a sense, emerged in accordance with the development of new global economic processes.”

16. Quote: “The system of foreign ‘trainees’, the official purpose of which is ‘to contribute to the industrial, social, and economic development of various developing countries through an attempt to transfer technology, technical skills, expertise and/or knowledge which have been accumulated in Japan’ (Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau 1996a: 8 ), has been used as a very convenient mechanism for ensuring a constant labour supply through OJT (On-the-Job Training).”

17. The trainee system was first implemented in the 1960s. Companies overseas wanted to send local workers to Japan for training.

18. Quote: “Responding to this long-term pressure, in 1981 the Ministry of Justice introduced the status of residence 4-1-6 (Article 4, Paragraph 1, Item 6) which was originally established to accept foreign students (Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau 1999d: 3). In April 1993 the Ministry of Justice implemented the Technical Intern Training Programme, which permits trainees to engage in employment, including manual labour, for a certain period after the completion of their actual training. Compared with the original trainee scheme, the new Technical Intern Training Programme gives trainees many more rights as ‘workers’ and, in 1997, the ministry further extended the programme by extending the retention period for trainees from the original two years to three years. 2 Furthermore, according to the basic principle of immigration policy in 2000, the ministry is prepared to extend the programme even further by increasing the range and types of skill covered by the programme. It will include caring for elderly people as a part of the measures against the country’s demographic trends, which include reduced fertility rates and rapid population ageing (Asahi Shinbun 14 January 2000).”

19. Quote: “Both the original trainee system and the Technical Intern Training Programme not only provide a mechanism for the legal supply of ‘unskilled labour’ to companies suffering from shortages of labour, but also contribute to an external perception of Japan as a leader in Asia through the system’s stated objectives of human capital development and technology transfer. Also, the expectation is that the system of foreign trainees will not generate many of the social problems that have plagued Western countries that have received foreign workers in the past, since they would normally come to Japan for only a limited period of time without bringing their families.”

20. Another side-door mechanism detailed is through “pre-college” students who are allowed to work up to four hours a day legally. Many of them actually work much more. Laws were adjusted to help curtail this in 1993. This had an impact on many of the Chinese who had been taking advantage of this loop-hole. However, giving that student enrollment is declining in Japan, in order to help support the university system, the government again revised these laws in 1997, relaxing the requirement that students must have guarantors. Most who work under a student visa do so in the service industry.

21. Quote: “The main concern of the government, in particular during the recession, has been to prevent Japan from following the experience of Western Europe after the oil crisis of 1973. What the government is anxious about is that, just as in the West European experience, the first phase of labour migration might merge into a second phase of family reunification, and these migrations might then result in demands for increased expenditure on housing, schooling, and medical and social facilities. On the surface, this concern in relation to immigration control may appear to be economic. It is, however, more than that. As in other countries, the core of immigration control in Japan is political and is closely associated with the nature of the sovereign state. Underlying the nature of the sovereign state is a doctrine of social, ethnic and linguistic homogeneity. As these various elements of homogeneity break down, the policy-making elite needs to take counter-measures in order to maintain the fundamental characteristics of the state. The fear is of losing control of the population which, in turn, will undermine the elite’s power. In the case of Japan, which sees itself as closed and ethnically homogeneous, fear of the emergence of various groups of foreigners who could dilute this homogeneity is obviously significant.”

22. The author notes that while the prolonged recession decreased the number of illegal immigrants, that most illegal immigrants are now staying on much longer. “In 1998, those who had stayed in Japan longer than five years comprised 25.7 per cent of the total number of apprehended illegal foreign workers ( Japan Immigration Association 1999a: 58).”

23. The author notes that regarding Nikkeijin, that while the original wave that came in during the bubble era were those who could speak some Japanese, a second wave of immigrants has now emerged, and they often do not speak Japanese nor have any familiarity with its customs. Also, now more people are coming with their entire families.

24. Also, as far as Nikkeijin are concerned, utilizing cable and satellite television they can watch their home programs. Stores catering to their special needs have sprung up. Communication prices have greatly diminished, and there is much less emotional distance than there previous was. Communities in Aichi, Shizuoka and Gunma have taken root.

25. The number of registered foreigners has continued to increase despite the prolonged recession.

26. Quote: “Initially, the Japanese government put most of its effort in the field of immigration control into controlling the national border, being mainly concerned with short-term economic gain through the fulfilment of labour requirements. However, these foreigners often reside in Japan much longer than the government had initially expected, which conflicts with the country’s traditional immigration policy, i.e. that all foreigners should be admitted on a temporary basis only. As these foreigners are beginning to be accepted as ordinary, rather than exceptional, foreigners, their economically driven migration has eventually spilled over into the social, cultural and political domains of Japanese society and some of the components of sovereign power over immigration control in Japan have been influenced and reshaped by their existence. Problems arising from having a large number of foreign residents in Japanese society tend to rise to the surface where the existing social system has not yet accommodated the requirements of such non-Japanese. They include, for example, various social services such as education for foreign children and health insurance. The main dilemma for the government is that, although it possesses exclusive authority to define its nationals as well as to control the entry of non-nationals like any sovereign state, because non-nationals reside in Japan for long periods of time and eventually create precedents as ‘residents’, the government inevitably becomes more and more accountable to all its residents, regardless of their nationalities, as increasing focus comes to be placed on their human rights. Issues related to medical care and health insurance schemes for foreign residents illustrate this dilemma.”

27. Author spends a considerable amount of space discussing National Health Insurance programme. The system in anachronistic and ill suited for the new immigrants needs. Very good analysis here.

28. Quote: “Although Japan may still wish to see itself as closed and ethnically homogeneous, Japanese society today paints a different picture, pointing towards the emergence of a society in which multiple cultures and affiliations going beyond the nation state are being syncretized in a complex way. For the Japanese, the existence of foreign workers as ‘residents’ may be seen as the internal globalization of society and the identity of the Japanese people. Traditionally, the Japanese people have been territorializing their identity on the basis of myths of ethnic purity and of cultural homogeneity. The current situation in which transnational identities have been increasingly proliferating will certainly represent a threat for the Japanese people and will eventually erode their national identity or may create countervailing tendencies such as racism.”

members has come in during the prolonged recession. Also, those who now come to Japan with their entire family has also increased.