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| "This is a system that makes it difficult for trainees to create a career path and is structurally prone to human rights violations," Furukawa told a press conference. "I want to bring this long-standing issue to a historic conclusion." Protesters rally in Tokyo's Ueno district in June, calling for an abolition of the technical intern program and to call for the creation of a new system to accept trainees as immigrants. (File photo by= KYODO) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] TOKYO: The Japanese government said Friday it will launch a full-scale review of the country's foreign technical intern program to address issues of human rights violations and inadequate support for trainees, Kyodo reported.
An increasing number of cases of harassment and abuse of foreign trainees has resulted in mounting criticism at home and abroad with claims that it is a cover for companies to import cheap labor rather than a program to transfer skills to developing countries. Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa expressed the need to "make consistent the purpose of the system and the actual operation of the system," after he held study sessions in February this year to hear the views from experts and support groups for foreign nationals.
The government will set up a panel of experts as early as the end of this year to move forward with discussions to make specific revisions to the program. Among other issues that have arisen include trainees incurring large debts due to the expense of entering Japan, working illegal working hours, and not receiving wages. Meanwhile, Japan introduced the training program for foreigners in 1993, primarily for the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, with trainees allowed to work for up to five years at such workplaces.
