The Yomiuri Shimbun
About 20 foreign instructors who had worked for Nova Corp. lodged a complaint with labor authorities about their new employer Friday, claiming it had violated the Labor Standards Law by unjustly terminating their contracts.
The instructors claimed to the Osaka Chuo Labor Standards Inspection Office that Nagoya-based G.education Co. failed to clarify its criteria when it refused to renew the contracts.
Meanwhile, G.education stated the termination stemmed from expiration of the contracts, and said it not see the dismissals as unfair.
According to the firm, when it hired the instructors, it took over their contracts with Nova. The firm said it did not renew the contracts of about 60 instructors that began expiring in January on the grounds they did not work enough days to meet the contract renewal standard, or that they refused to be transferred, and the firm could not secure classrooms for them.
(Feb. 16, 2008)
Showing posts with label Foreigners in Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreigners in Japan. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
DPJ split deepens over foreigner suffrage bill
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Feb 11, 2008
The split in the Democratic Party of Japan over a planned bill to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections has further deepened, with groups of advocates and skeptics holding separate meetings on the issue.
DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama has tried to bring the two sides of the conflict closer together, but with the issue tied to speculation over September's party presidential election, it will be difficult to successfully resolve the problem.
Twenty-two DPJ lawmakers, including Vice President Katsuya Okada and House of Councillors member Yoshihiro Kawakami, attended the first meeting of proponents of the bill on Jan. 30.
Okada, who heads the group, indicated his determination to have the bill submitted.
"We're going to put forward this issue so that as a party we can submit it as a bill," Okada said.
The proponents' group has invited outside experts to participate in its regular Tuesday study meetings. The group hopes that after discussing the matter at departmental and other party meetings, the bill will be submitted during the current Diet session.
On the same day the proponents' group met 23 lawmakers, including senior House of Representatives member Kozo Watanabe--the party's top adviser--and upper house Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Takeo Nishioka, attended the first meeting of a group of skeptics over the issue.
This group is also holding study meetings with outside experts when needed.
The skeptics group is calling for the party leadership not to apply a whip forcing lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill should it be submitted.
With both sides again scheduling separate meetings on Tuesday evening, the matter is shaping up as a leadership battle within the main opposition party.
In light of this situation, Hatoyama and Policy Research Committee Chairman Masayuki Naoshima met Thursday and agreed it was not good to have two groups opposed to each other in this way.
At a press conference Friday, Hatoyama advocated discussion through an official party body such as a working group of a party departmental meeting.
However, the implications of the issue for September's leadership election are complicating matters since the group advocating the bill was formed with the support of party President Ichiro Ozawa.
Some senior party members who support the granting of suffrage to permanent foreign residents have declined to join the proponents' group out of concern that the group is tarred with the brush of Ozawa.
At the same time, other party members resisting to Hatoyama's proposal to create an official party body to discuss the matter.
"Wasn't it the party leadership who decided it would be better for the matter to be discussed by groups [within the party] rather than an official party body?" one party executive asked.
Lawmakers in favor of Okada taking over the party reins from Ozawa have also expressed concerns.
"[Mr. Ozawa] chose Mr. Okada as head [of the advocates' group] so that any resulting confusion within the party could be blamed on him," one lawmaker said. "Mr. Okada should quickly extract himself from this predicament."
(Feb. 11, 2008)
Feb 11, 2008
The split in the Democratic Party of Japan over a planned bill to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections has further deepened, with groups of advocates and skeptics holding separate meetings on the issue.
DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama has tried to bring the two sides of the conflict closer together, but with the issue tied to speculation over September's party presidential election, it will be difficult to successfully resolve the problem.
Twenty-two DPJ lawmakers, including Vice President Katsuya Okada and House of Councillors member Yoshihiro Kawakami, attended the first meeting of proponents of the bill on Jan. 30.
Okada, who heads the group, indicated his determination to have the bill submitted.
"We're going to put forward this issue so that as a party we can submit it as a bill," Okada said.
The proponents' group has invited outside experts to participate in its regular Tuesday study meetings. The group hopes that after discussing the matter at departmental and other party meetings, the bill will be submitted during the current Diet session.
On the same day the proponents' group met 23 lawmakers, including senior House of Representatives member Kozo Watanabe--the party's top adviser--and upper house Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Takeo Nishioka, attended the first meeting of a group of skeptics over the issue.
This group is also holding study meetings with outside experts when needed.
The skeptics group is calling for the party leadership not to apply a whip forcing lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill should it be submitted.
With both sides again scheduling separate meetings on Tuesday evening, the matter is shaping up as a leadership battle within the main opposition party.
In light of this situation, Hatoyama and Policy Research Committee Chairman Masayuki Naoshima met Thursday and agreed it was not good to have two groups opposed to each other in this way.
At a press conference Friday, Hatoyama advocated discussion through an official party body such as a working group of a party departmental meeting.
However, the implications of the issue for September's leadership election are complicating matters since the group advocating the bill was formed with the support of party President Ichiro Ozawa.
Some senior party members who support the granting of suffrage to permanent foreign residents have declined to join the proponents' group out of concern that the group is tarred with the brush of Ozawa.
At the same time, other party members resisting to Hatoyama's proposal to create an official party body to discuss the matter.
"Wasn't it the party leadership who decided it would be better for the matter to be discussed by groups [within the party] rather than an official party body?" one party executive asked.
Lawmakers in favor of Okada taking over the party reins from Ozawa have also expressed concerns.
"[Mr. Ozawa] chose Mr. Okada as head [of the advocates' group] so that any resulting confusion within the party could be blamed on him," one lawmaker said. "Mr. Okada should quickly extract himself from this predicament."
(Feb. 11, 2008)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Japan to Extend Visa Limit to Five Years From Three, NHK Says
By Tak Kumakura
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan plans to extend long-term visa permits to five years from the current three when it changes the registration system for foreigners living in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The Justice Ministry also plans to simplify the re-entry process for returning foreign residents, NHK reported on its English-language Web site, without saying where it obtained the information.
The government plans a new registration system for foreign residents that requires them to report a change of address to local government offices and requires schools and organizations that sponsor foreigners to update their information.
Legislation for the changes is expected by the end of March to be submitted to parliament next year, NHK said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tak Kumakura in Tokyo at tkumakura@bloomberg.net
Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan plans to extend long-term visa permits to five years from the current three when it changes the registration system for foreigners living in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The Justice Ministry also plans to simplify the re-entry process for returning foreign residents, NHK reported on its English-language Web site, without saying where it obtained the information.
The government plans a new registration system for foreign residents that requires them to report a change of address to local government offices and requires schools and organizations that sponsor foreigners to update their information.
Legislation for the changes is expected by the end of March to be submitted to parliament next year, NHK said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tak Kumakura in Tokyo at tkumakura@bloomberg.net
Friday, February 1, 2008
DPJ holds opposing meetings on foreigners voting in local elections
January 31, 2008
TOKYO — Members of the Democratic Party of Japan on Wednesday held two separate meetings, one involving lawmakers and proxies who support allowing foreigners with permanent residence status to vote in local elections and another involving those opposed to the idea.
While DPJ members emphasize that they will not allow the issue to create an intra-party division, the development apparently shows that members of the largest opposition party do not see eye-to-eye on the matter.
About 80 DPJ lawmakers and proxies attended an inaugural meeting of a group supporting the idea shortly past noon, while approximately 50 gathered in the afternoon for a study session opposing it.
Both gatherings, held in the Diet building, were attended by 23 parliamentarians each.
DPJ Vice President Katsuya Okada, who was elected chairman of the group supporting the idea, expressed his readiness to work on drafting a bill to grant local suffrage to permanent residents for submission to the Diet during the ongoing regular session through June.
"This issue has been an ardent wish for the DPJ for many years. There are various opinions within the party, but we want to gain the understanding of many and to present the bill" to parliament, Okada said at the outset of the group's meeting.
In the other gathering, Kozo Watanabe, the DPJ's top adviser, said it was necessary to discuss the issue cautiously while seeking unity among all party members.
"It is a very important issue. We will not start out with a conclusion but rather study how we can gain the understanding of the people," Watanabe said.
Those attending the meeting opposing the idea decided to request that the issue be discussed by the DPJ's shadow cabinet.
DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa has expressed support for the idea to allow permanent residents to vote in local elections and made remarks to that effect when he met with an envoy of South Korea's President-elect Lee Myung Bak in Tokyo in mid-January.
The South Korean government has repeatedly called on Japan to allow permanent residents of Korean descent, who make up the bulk of foreign residents in Japan, to vote in local elections. South Korea allowed foreigners who have lived in the country for more than three years after obtaining permanent residency to vote in local elections for the first time in June 2006.
While many members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to granting local suffrage to permanent residents, its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, has long pushed for the move.
LDP lawmakers who oppose the idea argue it could violate the Constitution, saying the supreme law gives the Japanese people the "inalienable right" to choose electorates in Japan.
Under current laws, only citizens with Japanese nationality aged 20 or over are eligible to vote in local and national elections.
Some municipalities in Japan have passed ordinances to allow foreign citizens with permanent resident status to vote in local referendums.
TOKYO — Members of the Democratic Party of Japan on Wednesday held two separate meetings, one involving lawmakers and proxies who support allowing foreigners with permanent residence status to vote in local elections and another involving those opposed to the idea.
While DPJ members emphasize that they will not allow the issue to create an intra-party division, the development apparently shows that members of the largest opposition party do not see eye-to-eye on the matter.
About 80 DPJ lawmakers and proxies attended an inaugural meeting of a group supporting the idea shortly past noon, while approximately 50 gathered in the afternoon for a study session opposing it.
Both gatherings, held in the Diet building, were attended by 23 parliamentarians each.
DPJ Vice President Katsuya Okada, who was elected chairman of the group supporting the idea, expressed his readiness to work on drafting a bill to grant local suffrage to permanent residents for submission to the Diet during the ongoing regular session through June.
"This issue has been an ardent wish for the DPJ for many years. There are various opinions within the party, but we want to gain the understanding of many and to present the bill" to parliament, Okada said at the outset of the group's meeting.
In the other gathering, Kozo Watanabe, the DPJ's top adviser, said it was necessary to discuss the issue cautiously while seeking unity among all party members.
"It is a very important issue. We will not start out with a conclusion but rather study how we can gain the understanding of the people," Watanabe said.
Those attending the meeting opposing the idea decided to request that the issue be discussed by the DPJ's shadow cabinet.
DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa has expressed support for the idea to allow permanent residents to vote in local elections and made remarks to that effect when he met with an envoy of South Korea's President-elect Lee Myung Bak in Tokyo in mid-January.
The South Korean government has repeatedly called on Japan to allow permanent residents of Korean descent, who make up the bulk of foreign residents in Japan, to vote in local elections. South Korea allowed foreigners who have lived in the country for more than three years after obtaining permanent residency to vote in local elections for the first time in June 2006.
While many members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to granting local suffrage to permanent residents, its coalition partner, the New Komeito party, has long pushed for the move.
LDP lawmakers who oppose the idea argue it could violate the Constitution, saying the supreme law gives the Japanese people the "inalienable right" to choose electorates in Japan.
Under current laws, only citizens with Japanese nationality aged 20 or over are eligible to vote in local and national elections.
Some municipalities in Japan have passed ordinances to allow foreign citizens with permanent resident status to vote in local referendums.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Fingerprinting Harmless To Tourism In Japan: Government
Jan 11, 2008
TOKYO (AFP)--Japan's new practice of fingerprinting and photographing foreigners hasn't discouraged tourism, with last year seeing a record number of visitors, a government survey said Friday.
Japan started the new security measures at airports and other points of entry despite concerns by rights groups and business leaders.
Japan modeled the tighter immigration controls on the controversial U.S.-Visit system launched in the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which keeps biometric data of foreign visitors.
However, the number of foreigners entering Japan between Nov. 20, the day the new controls were introduced, and Dec. 31, rose 13.4% from the same period of 2006 to 980,000, the justice ministry said.
The total number of foreigners who visited Japan last year hit a record 9.15 million, up 12.9% from the previous year, the ministry said in a preliminary survey.
"One factor is thought to be the effects of government policies to promote tourism in Japan," it said, noting a particular growth in visitors from other Asian countries.
Japan has been promoting a "Visit Japan" campaign to double the annual total of visitors to 10 million by 2010 from 5.21 million in 2003.
The campaign includes advertisements overseas and more foreign-language assistance in Japan.
A separate survey by Japan's largest travel agency said last month that a record nine million foreigners are expected to visit Japan next year, drawn both by the country's culture and the upcoming Group of Eight summit.
Tourism to Japan has also been boosted by the recent weakness of the yen, particularly in comparison with the soaring South Korean won and euro.
TOKYO (AFP)--Japan's new practice of fingerprinting and photographing foreigners hasn't discouraged tourism, with last year seeing a record number of visitors, a government survey said Friday.
Japan started the new security measures at airports and other points of entry despite concerns by rights groups and business leaders.
Japan modeled the tighter immigration controls on the controversial U.S.-Visit system launched in the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which keeps biometric data of foreign visitors.
However, the number of foreigners entering Japan between Nov. 20, the day the new controls were introduced, and Dec. 31, rose 13.4% from the same period of 2006 to 980,000, the justice ministry said.
The total number of foreigners who visited Japan last year hit a record 9.15 million, up 12.9% from the previous year, the ministry said in a preliminary survey.
"One factor is thought to be the effects of government policies to promote tourism in Japan," it said, noting a particular growth in visitors from other Asian countries.
Japan has been promoting a "Visit Japan" campaign to double the annual total of visitors to 10 million by 2010 from 5.21 million in 2003.
The campaign includes advertisements overseas and more foreign-language assistance in Japan.
A separate survey by Japan's largest travel agency said last month that a record nine million foreigners are expected to visit Japan next year, drawn both by the country's culture and the upcoming Group of Eight summit.
Tourism to Japan has also been boosted by the recent weakness of the yen, particularly in comparison with the soaring South Korean won and euro.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Japanese Shipping Firms Forecast to Hire 10,000 Filipino Seamen
MANILA, Jan 10 Asia Pulse - Japanese shipping companies are expected to hire 10,000 Filipino seamen in the next three years, according to the Philippine-Japan Manning Consultative Council (PJMCC).
Eduardo Manese, PJMCC president, said that at present there are about 30,000 Filipino seamen manning Japanese vessels, making them the biggest single nationality hired by Japanese ship firms.
Manese said that of the 12,000 seamen Japan needs to date until 2010, they prefer to hire 10,000 Filipinos.
PJMCC records show that 80 per cent of newly built Japanese vessels are manned by Filipino crew.
Japan has a total of 2,223 merchant fleet at the end of 2006 but this will increase to 3,000 ships and 4,000 vessels at the end of 2010 and 2015, respectively.
NYK Lines, one of the biggest shipping companies in Japan, will increase its fleet from the current 787 vessels to 938 by 2010, Mitsui OSK Lines will also increase its ships from 803 at present to 1,200 by 2013, and K-Line from 468 to 700.
Manese said that it was PJMCC's initiative to conduct an assessment exam among the second-year students of BS Maritime Transportation or BS Maritime Engineering, a measure that would encourage those weak ones to shift to other courses rather than continue and not be accommodated by the industry's standards.
"We have already started it last year. And hopefully, we can continue it in the coming years," Manese said.
Japan has been suffering from a scarcity of seafarers for ocean-going vessels as a result of its aging population.
From a peak of 56,833 in 1974, it reached an all-time low of 2,625 Japanese seamen in 2005, or just the same figure that the world's most populous countries, China and India can provide.
(PNA)
Eduardo Manese, PJMCC president, said that at present there are about 30,000 Filipino seamen manning Japanese vessels, making them the biggest single nationality hired by Japanese ship firms.
Manese said that of the 12,000 seamen Japan needs to date until 2010, they prefer to hire 10,000 Filipinos.
PJMCC records show that 80 per cent of newly built Japanese vessels are manned by Filipino crew.
Japan has a total of 2,223 merchant fleet at the end of 2006 but this will increase to 3,000 ships and 4,000 vessels at the end of 2010 and 2015, respectively.
NYK Lines, one of the biggest shipping companies in Japan, will increase its fleet from the current 787 vessels to 938 by 2010, Mitsui OSK Lines will also increase its ships from 803 at present to 1,200 by 2013, and K-Line from 468 to 700.
Manese said that it was PJMCC's initiative to conduct an assessment exam among the second-year students of BS Maritime Transportation or BS Maritime Engineering, a measure that would encourage those weak ones to shift to other courses rather than continue and not be accommodated by the industry's standards.
"We have already started it last year. And hopefully, we can continue it in the coming years," Manese said.
Japan has been suffering from a scarcity of seafarers for ocean-going vessels as a result of its aging population.
From a peak of 56,833 in 1974, it reached an all-time low of 2,625 Japanese seamen in 2005, or just the same figure that the world's most populous countries, China and India can provide.
(PNA)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
DPJ lawmakers to push foreigner suffrage bill
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Lawmakers in the Democratic Party of Japan are stepping up efforts to resubmit a bill that would grant permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections, according to sources.
With New Komeito also strongly demanding local suffrage for permanent foreign residents, DPJ lawmakers hope in the upcoming Diet session "to split the ruling camp by submitting the bill to the House of Councillors and call on New Komeito to endorse it," according to one of the sources.
But some conservative lawmakers in the party are determined to block the resubmission.
"Looking at this constitutionally and from the state of the nation, there's no way we can approve this," one party conservative said.
The DPJ previously submitted the bill to the House of Representatives on two occasions--in 1998 and 2002--but it was scrapped after failing to pass both times.
New Komeito also submitted to the lower house in 2005 a bill for granting permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections, and discussions have spilled over into the current Diet session.
The passing of any bill of this nature has been stopped in its tracks mostly due to deep-rooted resistance mainly in the Liberal Democratic Party.
Yoshihiro Kawakami, a DPJ upper house member, plans to call on supporters in the party and establish a league of Diet members aimed at resubmitting the DPJ's bill.
In the new bill, a "principle of reciprocity" will be introduced, in which local voting rights would only be granted to permanent residents who hold the nationality of a country that allows foreigners to vote in elections.
"New Komeito's proposed bill has for sometime contained the principle of reciprocity, and so New Komeito won't be able to oppose the DPJ's bill," Kawakami said.
Kawakami and his supporters hope to gain approval from the party leadership and submit the bill for prior consideration by the upper house.
(Jan. 7, 2008)
Lawmakers in the Democratic Party of Japan are stepping up efforts to resubmit a bill that would grant permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections, according to sources.
With New Komeito also strongly demanding local suffrage for permanent foreign residents, DPJ lawmakers hope in the upcoming Diet session "to split the ruling camp by submitting the bill to the House of Councillors and call on New Komeito to endorse it," according to one of the sources.
But some conservative lawmakers in the party are determined to block the resubmission.
"Looking at this constitutionally and from the state of the nation, there's no way we can approve this," one party conservative said.
The DPJ previously submitted the bill to the House of Representatives on two occasions--in 1998 and 2002--but it was scrapped after failing to pass both times.
New Komeito also submitted to the lower house in 2005 a bill for granting permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections, and discussions have spilled over into the current Diet session.
The passing of any bill of this nature has been stopped in its tracks mostly due to deep-rooted resistance mainly in the Liberal Democratic Party.
Yoshihiro Kawakami, a DPJ upper house member, plans to call on supporters in the party and establish a league of Diet members aimed at resubmitting the DPJ's bill.
In the new bill, a "principle of reciprocity" will be introduced, in which local voting rights would only be granted to permanent residents who hold the nationality of a country that allows foreigners to vote in elections.
"New Komeito's proposed bill has for sometime contained the principle of reciprocity, and so New Komeito won't be able to oppose the DPJ's bill," Kawakami said.
Kawakami and his supporters hope to gain approval from the party leadership and submit the bill for prior consideration by the upper house.
(Jan. 7, 2008)
Monday, January 7, 2008
Govt to revise scholarships for foreign students
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry has decided to revise the current system of scholarships for foreign students coming to Japan for periods of less than a year, aiming to expand and improve short-stay programs at universities here, according to government sources.
In Europe and the United States, most students who study abroad do so for only three to 12 months.
The new program will start in the next fiscal and academic year, both of which begin April 1, the sources said.
Quotas for the scholarships are decided by the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative institute, according to the number of international students at each university. But from next academic year the quotas will be decided by the ministry after examining the quality of curriculums for international students at each university.
Currently, the student service organization rubber-stamps recommendations for scholarships from universities. Under the new system, however, administration of the scholarship program for international students on short-stay programs will be transferred from the organization to the ministry, which will conduct more rigorous screening.
The ministry will oblige universities to submit "study programs" that detail curriculums for such students and the universities' preparations for accepting them.
If the ministry approves a university's program, the quota for foreign student scholarships at that institution will remain at current levels. But universities that fail to pass the ministry' screening process will see their quota cut, according to the sources.
Through such advance screening, which comes before screening of the students' scholarship applications, the ministry aims to help universities attract top-quality foreign students, the sources said.
The ministry will exercise its authority in deciding which students get the scholarships, which are worth 80,000 yen a month, aiming to secure the best candidates.
The series of reforms take into consideration the fact that foreign students increasingly opt for short-term programs, rather than long-term programs of two years or more.
According to the student services organization, the number of foreign students on short-stay programs of less than a year as of May 1 was a record 8,368, up 945 from the previous academic year.
On the other hand, the number of students on longer-period programs was 110,130, down 374 from fiscal 2006.
Other evidence suggests that students on short-stay programs tend to return for another round of studies, according to the sources.
The government has decided to expand and improve the scholarship program in the belief that it will be beneficial if top quality students can be persuaded to come to Japan once or more, the sources explained.
This academic year, 1,700 international students were awarded scholarships. The government plans to increase the number to 1,800 in the next academic year, the sources added.
(Dec. 30, 2007)
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry has decided to revise the current system of scholarships for foreign students coming to Japan for periods of less than a year, aiming to expand and improve short-stay programs at universities here, according to government sources.
In Europe and the United States, most students who study abroad do so for only three to 12 months.
The new program will start in the next fiscal and academic year, both of which begin April 1, the sources said.
Quotas for the scholarships are decided by the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative institute, according to the number of international students at each university. But from next academic year the quotas will be decided by the ministry after examining the quality of curriculums for international students at each university.
Currently, the student service organization rubber-stamps recommendations for scholarships from universities. Under the new system, however, administration of the scholarship program for international students on short-stay programs will be transferred from the organization to the ministry, which will conduct more rigorous screening.
The ministry will oblige universities to submit "study programs" that detail curriculums for such students and the universities' preparations for accepting them.
If the ministry approves a university's program, the quota for foreign student scholarships at that institution will remain at current levels. But universities that fail to pass the ministry' screening process will see their quota cut, according to the sources.
Through such advance screening, which comes before screening of the students' scholarship applications, the ministry aims to help universities attract top-quality foreign students, the sources said.
The ministry will exercise its authority in deciding which students get the scholarships, which are worth 80,000 yen a month, aiming to secure the best candidates.
The series of reforms take into consideration the fact that foreign students increasingly opt for short-term programs, rather than long-term programs of two years or more.
According to the student services organization, the number of foreign students on short-stay programs of less than a year as of May 1 was a record 8,368, up 945 from the previous academic year.
On the other hand, the number of students on longer-period programs was 110,130, down 374 from fiscal 2006.
Other evidence suggests that students on short-stay programs tend to return for another round of studies, according to the sources.
The government has decided to expand and improve the scholarship program in the belief that it will be beneficial if top quality students can be persuaded to come to Japan once or more, the sources explained.
This academic year, 1,700 international students were awarded scholarships. The government plans to increase the number to 1,800 in the next academic year, the sources added.
(Dec. 30, 2007)
Teachers still being kept in the dark
By ANGELA KIDSON
Melbourne, Australia
Regarding the Dec. 26 article "Firm reneges on promised jobs for Nova teachers": G.education Co. certainly appears to be continuing in the footsteps of the English-teaching company Nova with regard to the treatment of teachers. I was a Nova teacher and had to leave Japan in November after the schools closed. I had attended a meeting held by G.education at which we were urged to sign up with it and wait. Anyone who wanted a job would have one. I'm glad I didn't put my trust in G.education.
How cruel to keep unemployed teachers waiting and hoping, and then, on Christmas Eve, send an e-mail informing them that they don't have a job. Expats do not have the same support networks as in their home countries, and this kind of uncertainty, while living in a foreign country, is hard to bear. Nova kept its employees in the dark, and G.education seems to be doing the same. Surely these workers deserve honest information so that they can exercise some control over their lives.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
Melbourne, Australia
Regarding the Dec. 26 article "Firm reneges on promised jobs for Nova teachers": G.education Co. certainly appears to be continuing in the footsteps of the English-teaching company Nova with regard to the treatment of teachers. I was a Nova teacher and had to leave Japan in November after the schools closed. I had attended a meeting held by G.education at which we were urged to sign up with it and wait. Anyone who wanted a job would have one. I'm glad I didn't put my trust in G.education.
How cruel to keep unemployed teachers waiting and hoping, and then, on Christmas Eve, send an e-mail informing them that they don't have a job. Expats do not have the same support networks as in their home countries, and this kind of uncertainty, while living in a foreign country, is hard to bear. Nova kept its employees in the dark, and G.education seems to be doing the same. Surely these workers deserve honest information so that they can exercise some control over their lives.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Assistant language teachers in trying times
In November, Samantha Bouton, an assistant language teacher working at a public elementary school in the rural town of Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture, had a fever of 38.5 degrees and was diagnosed as suffering bronchitis.
Because of her illness, Bouton, a 25-year-old U.S. native from Oregon who has been teaching in Japan's public schools since 2004, had to take leave for two weeks.
But her employer, Interac, a temp staff dispatch agency and leading provider of ALTs in Japan, told her she had already used up her seven days of annual paid leave — less than the 12 days she is entitled to under labor law — to cover the days she was sick.
"I went in every morning and the vice principal would take my temperature, cancel every class and send me home," said Bouton, a contract worker at Interac, adding she had hoped that if she was sent home by the school, she would get sick leave. But her paycheck showed her salary was deducted for the days she took leave.
That and other poor working conditions for Interac employees was enough to convince Bouton and her husband, Greg Diamond, who also works for Interac as an ALT, that it is not worth working in Japan anymore. The couple plan to return to the United States in April.
"I have worked here from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. minimum. And after three years, I still don't have social insurance, I haven't gotten a bonus and I haven't gotten a raise," Diamond lamented.
ALTs are native English language teachers who offer assistance to Japanese teachers to help improve the oral communication skills of students in public and private elementary, junior high and high schools.
In the past, ALTs were recruited through the government-sponsored Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. But as the coffers of local governments began to dwindle in recent years, many switched from JET program ALTs to those cheaper private companies outsource.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of JET program ALTs dropped to 5,057 in fiscal 2006 from 5,676 in fiscal 2002, while non-JET ALTs doubled to 5,951 in fiscal 2006 from 3,090 in fiscal 2002.
Currently, English language is a compulsory subject in junior high schools, but demand for ALTs is expected to increase in the future because English will become mandatory for fifth-graders in elementary schools starting in 2011.
But the lower cost of company ALTs comes at the expense of the teachers' low salaries and lack of benefits, including health insurance, unemployment insurance, pension and less paid leave.
"It makes Nova working conditions look like paradise," said Louis Carlet, deputy secretary general at the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, referring to Nova Corp., the nation's biggest language school before it went under in October.
Nova teachers who suddenly lost their jobs were left in limbo, with some unable to pay their rent or even able to afford daily necessities. But others found re-employment at G.education Co., which took over part of Nova's business.
But G.education said in December it can only hire 200 more employees in addition to the 1,447 it has so far employed, a reversal of its earlier promise to hire all former teachers and Japanese staff at Nova.
Despite the difficulties Nova teachers went through, Carlet said Nova's working conditions, when it was in business, were much better than those for private company ALTs. The pay of private ALTs is lower, they have contracts of less than a year and they don't get paid during school vacation periods, he said.
Carlet blamed local boards of education, saying they simply want to avoid the responsibility of hiring foreigners by subcontracting the work to private companies. Under the system, the boards sign contracts with private firms that hire foreign teachers as ALTs.
"If they hire them directly, it means they have responsibility for their employment, and if something happens, they have to deal with it directly," Carlet said. "What they want is to have all those problems, especially those hiring foreigners, pushed onto the private companies."
Some boards of education choose private ALT dispatch agencies through a bidding process, forcing them to cut costs further, he said.
The fact that the ALTs are hired as contract workers instead of full-time employees also makes their position insecure.
Companies need to enroll part-time employees in the social insurance system if they work more than three-fourths of full-time employee working hours, or 30 hours a week.
But since the firms want to avoid shouldering additional benefit costs, they ask ALTs to work less than 30 hours or count the working hours by the number of lessons they teach instead of the number of hours they spend in the workplace.
Some ALTs who just want to work for a year or two in Japan prefer not being enrolled in the social insurance system to avoid paying insurance premiums and have higher take-home wages. But those seeking a longer stay tend to seek better benefits.
David Ashton, president of the Nambu Foreign Workers Caucus of the Tokyo Nambu Union, said ALTs' limited Japanese language ability makes it hard for them to realize their rights or take action.
"If they get fired for some invalid reason, they go from one low-paid, poor-condition ALT job to another one," Ashton said. "There are always more (teachers) ready to take the job because they just left another job."
The working conditions of company ALTs are in sharp contrast with JET program teachers. The government-sponsored exchange program was launched in 1987 to boost relationships at the grassroots level amid fierce trade friction between Japan and the U.S.
The JET program offers generous working conditions to encourage foreigners to apply. They are given a monthly salary of ¥300,000, are covered by social insurance and given up to 20 days of paid holidays in addition to sick leave.
"The condition in Kamagaya is really, really good," said James Chenery, 29, a JET program teacher in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, who came from Northern Ireland to Japan three years ago.
Wages and benefits are not the only thing Chenery is talking about.
The overall working conditions have allowed him to become part of the local community. In his spare time, he teaches English at community centers and is given Japanese lessons by volunteers.
Because he only covers three schools in the district, he gets to know students better.
Private company ALTs, however, tend to be dispatched to dozens of schools, hopping from one school to another. This makes it hard for teachers to become attached to students they teach.
Asked what his plans are after the maximum five years as an ALT in the JET program are up, Chenery said he hopes his Japanese will have improved well enough by then for him to find another job here.
Meanwhile, local boards of education have started to realize they cannot get competent, experienced teachers either by subcontracting to private firms or through the JET program because many of them come to Japan just out of college without any background in education.
Taito Ward in Tokyo said it plans to stop outsourcing ALTs to private companies. It is considering advertising for candidates on its Web site and asking them to give a presentation on the kind of lessons they plan to offer as part of its screening process.
The city of Musashino on the outskirts of Tokyo plans to seek applicants among native English speakers who live in the area instead of subcontracting from private companies.
Ashton of the Nambu union said the best way to improve the quality of English teachers and subsequently the standards of English in Japanese schools is to stop outsourcing to private companies.
Ashton noted that the standard of English language education will not improve if the dispatching companies keep sending people who have just arrived in the country with no teaching experience.
"If (the government) wants to improve the quality of language in the public and private school system, the best thing is to hire qualified teachers, compensate them well, give them opportunities for training and give them job security so they'll want to keep working here," Ashton said.
Because of her illness, Bouton, a 25-year-old U.S. native from Oregon who has been teaching in Japan's public schools since 2004, had to take leave for two weeks.
But her employer, Interac, a temp staff dispatch agency and leading provider of ALTs in Japan, told her she had already used up her seven days of annual paid leave — less than the 12 days she is entitled to under labor law — to cover the days she was sick.
"I went in every morning and the vice principal would take my temperature, cancel every class and send me home," said Bouton, a contract worker at Interac, adding she had hoped that if she was sent home by the school, she would get sick leave. But her paycheck showed her salary was deducted for the days she took leave.
That and other poor working conditions for Interac employees was enough to convince Bouton and her husband, Greg Diamond, who also works for Interac as an ALT, that it is not worth working in Japan anymore. The couple plan to return to the United States in April.
"I have worked here from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. minimum. And after three years, I still don't have social insurance, I haven't gotten a bonus and I haven't gotten a raise," Diamond lamented.
ALTs are native English language teachers who offer assistance to Japanese teachers to help improve the oral communication skills of students in public and private elementary, junior high and high schools.
In the past, ALTs were recruited through the government-sponsored Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. But as the coffers of local governments began to dwindle in recent years, many switched from JET program ALTs to those cheaper private companies outsource.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of JET program ALTs dropped to 5,057 in fiscal 2006 from 5,676 in fiscal 2002, while non-JET ALTs doubled to 5,951 in fiscal 2006 from 3,090 in fiscal 2002.
Currently, English language is a compulsory subject in junior high schools, but demand for ALTs is expected to increase in the future because English will become mandatory for fifth-graders in elementary schools starting in 2011.
But the lower cost of company ALTs comes at the expense of the teachers' low salaries and lack of benefits, including health insurance, unemployment insurance, pension and less paid leave.
"It makes Nova working conditions look like paradise," said Louis Carlet, deputy secretary general at the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, referring to Nova Corp., the nation's biggest language school before it went under in October.
Nova teachers who suddenly lost their jobs were left in limbo, with some unable to pay their rent or even able to afford daily necessities. But others found re-employment at G.education Co., which took over part of Nova's business.
But G.education said in December it can only hire 200 more employees in addition to the 1,447 it has so far employed, a reversal of its earlier promise to hire all former teachers and Japanese staff at Nova.
Despite the difficulties Nova teachers went through, Carlet said Nova's working conditions, when it was in business, were much better than those for private company ALTs. The pay of private ALTs is lower, they have contracts of less than a year and they don't get paid during school vacation periods, he said.
Carlet blamed local boards of education, saying they simply want to avoid the responsibility of hiring foreigners by subcontracting the work to private companies. Under the system, the boards sign contracts with private firms that hire foreign teachers as ALTs.
"If they hire them directly, it means they have responsibility for their employment, and if something happens, they have to deal with it directly," Carlet said. "What they want is to have all those problems, especially those hiring foreigners, pushed onto the private companies."
Some boards of education choose private ALT dispatch agencies through a bidding process, forcing them to cut costs further, he said.
The fact that the ALTs are hired as contract workers instead of full-time employees also makes their position insecure.
Companies need to enroll part-time employees in the social insurance system if they work more than three-fourths of full-time employee working hours, or 30 hours a week.
But since the firms want to avoid shouldering additional benefit costs, they ask ALTs to work less than 30 hours or count the working hours by the number of lessons they teach instead of the number of hours they spend in the workplace.
Some ALTs who just want to work for a year or two in Japan prefer not being enrolled in the social insurance system to avoid paying insurance premiums and have higher take-home wages. But those seeking a longer stay tend to seek better benefits.
David Ashton, president of the Nambu Foreign Workers Caucus of the Tokyo Nambu Union, said ALTs' limited Japanese language ability makes it hard for them to realize their rights or take action.
"If they get fired for some invalid reason, they go from one low-paid, poor-condition ALT job to another one," Ashton said. "There are always more (teachers) ready to take the job because they just left another job."
The working conditions of company ALTs are in sharp contrast with JET program teachers. The government-sponsored exchange program was launched in 1987 to boost relationships at the grassroots level amid fierce trade friction between Japan and the U.S.
The JET program offers generous working conditions to encourage foreigners to apply. They are given a monthly salary of ¥300,000, are covered by social insurance and given up to 20 days of paid holidays in addition to sick leave.
"The condition in Kamagaya is really, really good," said James Chenery, 29, a JET program teacher in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, who came from Northern Ireland to Japan three years ago.
Wages and benefits are not the only thing Chenery is talking about.
The overall working conditions have allowed him to become part of the local community. In his spare time, he teaches English at community centers and is given Japanese lessons by volunteers.
Because he only covers three schools in the district, he gets to know students better.
Private company ALTs, however, tend to be dispatched to dozens of schools, hopping from one school to another. This makes it hard for teachers to become attached to students they teach.
Asked what his plans are after the maximum five years as an ALT in the JET program are up, Chenery said he hopes his Japanese will have improved well enough by then for him to find another job here.
Meanwhile, local boards of education have started to realize they cannot get competent, experienced teachers either by subcontracting to private firms or through the JET program because many of them come to Japan just out of college without any background in education.
Taito Ward in Tokyo said it plans to stop outsourcing ALTs to private companies. It is considering advertising for candidates on its Web site and asking them to give a presentation on the kind of lessons they plan to offer as part of its screening process.
The city of Musashino on the outskirts of Tokyo plans to seek applicants among native English speakers who live in the area instead of subcontracting from private companies.
Ashton of the Nambu union said the best way to improve the quality of English teachers and subsequently the standards of English in Japanese schools is to stop outsourcing to private companies.
Ashton noted that the standard of English language education will not improve if the dispatching companies keep sending people who have just arrived in the country with no teaching experience.
"If (the government) wants to improve the quality of language in the public and private school system, the best thing is to hire qualified teachers, compensate them well, give them opportunities for training and give them job security so they'll want to keep working here," Ashton said.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Police not told of 4,600 missing foreigners
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Companies and organizations employing foreign trainees and technical interns failed to inform police that such employees had gone missing in 4,628 cases between 2002 and 2006, about half the total of such cases in that period, it has been learned.
The visitors were accepted as part of a program that allows foreigners to work in Japan for a certain period after receiving technical training.
With some of those who went missing becoming involved in serious crimes such as robbery, the Justice Ministry has ordered the firms and groups that employ them to notify the police without exception when their trainees go missing.
The program was introduced in 1993 to provide an opportunity for foreign trainees to learn about Japanese technologies.
According to the ministry, 9,607 of the 374,845 people taking part in the scheme between 2002 and 2006 went missing.
The trainees receive only a small allowance, and a number of them have been found working illegally at other companies.
When the police receive a request to search for a missing person, this information is shared by police forces across the country and can be used for questioning or initial investigations of incidents and accidents.
However, they were only requested to search for 4,979 of the missing trainees--about 52 percent--over the five-year period.
According to the National Police Agency, there is an increasing trend of trainees becoming involved in crime, with 585 such people committing crimes in 2006--up 27 on the previous year.
Some of the crimes committed by these missing people have been especially brutal.
A Chinese man stabbed a woman and stole cash from her in a Yokohama apartment in April last year, while another Chinese man was found to be the ringleader in a series of robberies in which about 43 million yen was stolen from locations such as dental surgeries in Saitama and Chiba prefectures in 2004.
The ministry determines the rules of compliance for the companies and groups that take on foreign trainees and interns.
Its operational guidelines state they should report the disappearance of a person to immigration authorities, but do not state that they should notify the police.
Immigration authorities, even after receiving such information, do not supply it to the police in the majority of cases.
Even new guidelines announced by the ministry Wednesday do not state that these employers should notify the police when recruits go missing. The guidelines instead instruct them to notify the police through regional immigration authorities.
"We intended to have these companies and organizations [that recruit foreign trainees] notify the police [of missing people]," a spokesman for the ministry's entry and status division said. "We didn't expect so many cases of nonnotification."
"Because missing trainees can't formally be employed in other work, there's a chance they may turn to crime," said Kiyoshi Yasutomi, a professor at Keio Law School and expert in immigration administration.
"Another problem is the fact that the police only have data on about half of those missing, and can't respond quickly when a crime takes place," he added. "Communication channels between the police and immigration authorities must be improved."
(Dec. 30, 2007)
Companies and organizations employing foreign trainees and technical interns failed to inform police that such employees had gone missing in 4,628 cases between 2002 and 2006, about half the total of such cases in that period, it has been learned.
The visitors were accepted as part of a program that allows foreigners to work in Japan for a certain period after receiving technical training.
With some of those who went missing becoming involved in serious crimes such as robbery, the Justice Ministry has ordered the firms and groups that employ them to notify the police without exception when their trainees go missing.
The program was introduced in 1993 to provide an opportunity for foreign trainees to learn about Japanese technologies.
According to the ministry, 9,607 of the 374,845 people taking part in the scheme between 2002 and 2006 went missing.
The trainees receive only a small allowance, and a number of them have been found working illegally at other companies.
When the police receive a request to search for a missing person, this information is shared by police forces across the country and can be used for questioning or initial investigations of incidents and accidents.
However, they were only requested to search for 4,979 of the missing trainees--about 52 percent--over the five-year period.
According to the National Police Agency, there is an increasing trend of trainees becoming involved in crime, with 585 such people committing crimes in 2006--up 27 on the previous year.
Some of the crimes committed by these missing people have been especially brutal.
A Chinese man stabbed a woman and stole cash from her in a Yokohama apartment in April last year, while another Chinese man was found to be the ringleader in a series of robberies in which about 43 million yen was stolen from locations such as dental surgeries in Saitama and Chiba prefectures in 2004.
The ministry determines the rules of compliance for the companies and groups that take on foreign trainees and interns.
Its operational guidelines state they should report the disappearance of a person to immigration authorities, but do not state that they should notify the police.
Immigration authorities, even after receiving such information, do not supply it to the police in the majority of cases.
Even new guidelines announced by the ministry Wednesday do not state that these employers should notify the police when recruits go missing. The guidelines instead instruct them to notify the police through regional immigration authorities.
"We intended to have these companies and organizations [that recruit foreign trainees] notify the police [of missing people]," a spokesman for the ministry's entry and status division said. "We didn't expect so many cases of nonnotification."
"Because missing trainees can't formally be employed in other work, there's a chance they may turn to crime," said Kiyoshi Yasutomi, a professor at Keio Law School and expert in immigration administration.
"Another problem is the fact that the police only have data on about half of those missing, and can't respond quickly when a crime takes place," he added. "Communication channels between the police and immigration authorities must be improved."
(Dec. 30, 2007)
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