📋 Tender Overview
In the face of population decline and aging, Japan needs to attract human resources from abroad to keep its society and economy strong. But unless steps are taken to improve working and living conditions, migrant workers might be tempted to pursue job opportunities elsewhere. Here, Kobayashi Yosuke, senior director of JICA’s newly established Office for Foreign Human Resources, identifies the key issues in attracting foreign human resources and describes the steps JICA is taking to overcome these issues.
Japan’s growing need for migrant workers
Japan is facing a serious labor shortage. There are not enough workers to serve bus routes or operate hospitals. Women and older people are helping fill the gap, but Japan also needs more migrant workers to continue offering essential social services.
The number of workers from abroad has been gradually increasing since the 1990s, reaching a record high of 1.82 million in 2022. But this is not enough to make up for Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population. By 2030, demand for migrant workers is expected to rise to 4.19 million, but the supply potential will be just 3.56 million, resulting in a shortfall of 630,000 workers, according to an estimate by the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development.
This suggests that unless more people choose Japan as their destination for migrant work, the dynamism of Japanese society will be difficult to maintain. But with other countries also facing population aging, competition for such workers has been rising. Can Japan secure the workers it needs by providing a safe, secure, and attractive destination for their services?
“Most migrant workers come from developing countries, and there have been many success stories. Unfortunately, there have also been cases, as reported in the media, of disputes involving these human resources over working conditions and violations of human rights,” says Kobayashi Yosuke, senior director of JICA’s Office for Foreign Human Resources. “As the value of the yen continues to decline, many more workers may choose not to come to Japan. That would be a big problem for us at JICA, since it could undermine the trust we have built up with many countries through development cooperation.”
Drawing on JICA’s development cooperation expertise to support foreign human resources
The source of most problems involving foreign human resources in Japan, Kobayashi feels, can be traced back to issues in their home countries.
Some migrants, for instance, go into heavy debt to pay off local brokers who arrange for their employment in Japan. This forces them to accept jobs or working conditions that fall short of their expectations, often without being able to protest. Others may not have been given enough information about available positions or working conditions and find that the skills they possess do not match those being sought. Many end up being isolated in their workplace or community because they had not received adequate language instruction or technical skills training. These are the problems that must be addressed starting in the home countries before workers arrive in Japan.
“Of course, there’s a need to raise awareness of workers’ human rights in Japan,” Kobayashi says. “But that’s not enough. Many problems arise when migrant workers are preparing to come to Japan. And that is an area where I believe JICA has a role to play.”
This was the setting in which JICA established in April 2021 the Office for Foreign Human Resources. JICA has many years of experience implementing development cooperation projects in areas like agriculture, industrial development, and legal and judicial development. And it has acquired extensive knowledge and built networks over the years. The new office is tasked with utilizing these resources to promote multicultural coexistence and support the acceptance of foreign human resources.
“JICA has built an extensive network of government officials, experts, and volunteers in developing countries,” Kobayashi adds. “This is thanks to years of cooperation in developing human resources and promoting policymaking and institutional improvements. JICA operates offices not only in Japan but also around the world. That’s a big advantage in enabling us to address issues faced by foreign human resources, both in their home countries and Japan.”
Contributing to economic and social growth in developing countries
The dispatch and acceptance of foreign human resources can be a plus for the workers themselves, their home countries, and the countries where they work, such as Japan. The workers themselves benefit by earning a higher income and acquiring new skills. The home countries gain from the remittances sent by the workers and the skills they bring home, potentially leading to new business opportunities with Japanese companies. And these workers can benefit Japanese society and economy by contributing to regional revitalization and easing labor shortages.
JICA’s main focus, Kobayashi says, should be on “contributing to the economic and social development of developing countries, while also seeking to turn such contributions into pluses for Japanese society and economy.”
In June 2023, the Office for Foreign Human Resources established new guiding principles that clarified the meaning of these initiatives for JICA and outlined how it would leverage its strengths to promote collaboration and value co-creation with diverse stakeholders. The three main pillars of JICA’s work on migration and development are (1) capacity development to enhance migration’s contribution to economic development, (2) promotion of respect for the human rights of migrant workers, and (3) creation of an inclusive society for foreign human resources in Japan.
