Japan** decided on Friday that it intends to abolish the current foreign trainee system and replace it with a system that is said to be able to truly teach skills and guarantee the rights of trainees. Under the system, holders of a three-year training visa will be able to upgrade to the skilled worker category, which will allow them to stay for up to five years and potentially obtain permanent residency.
1The population of 2.6 billion is rapidly aging and shrinking. Many understaffed industries, including services, manufacturing and construction, rely heavily on foreign trainees and language students. The current trainee system, which was introduced in 1993, has been criticized as a cover for the introduction of cheap labor. Foreign cheap workers often work in poor conditions and do not enjoy equal benefits. As of June last year, Japan had brought in nearly 360,000 trainees, most of whom were from Vietnam, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
The new system will continue to limit the types of jobs that foreign trainees can do, as the conservative ruling party does not agree with a more liberal immigration policy. The existing system prohibits trainees from changing employers, while the new system will allow them to change jobs after one to two years of service, but only in the same category of work.
Applicants for the new trainee program are also required to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
Japan revised the system for the introduction of trainees