See also: Foreign Trainees on the Technical Internship Programme
Abolish the Technical Intern Training Program, Japanese government-led slavery immediately A campaign to end the programme. Change.org, 2019.
67% of missing foreign trainees worked below minimum wage: opposition parties Looks at a claim from opposition political parties in Japan about the widespread underpayment of trainees, as well as overwork, on the training programme and that the Ministry of Justice tried to hide the real situation. Maincihi Shinbun, 4 Dec 2018.
Japan’s Technical Intern Training Programme - Learning the Hard Way? An article that explains how the TITP works, the criticisms of the harsh working conditions on the programme and possible and actual measures that could be taken to prevent abuse of trainees on the programme, especially ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Institute for Human Rights and Business, 16 October 2017. See also a longer report on the same issues Learning Experience? Japan’s TITP and the Challenge of Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers which downloads as a pdf file.
Japan enacts law to prevent abuse of foreign trainees "The move comes after the government decided recently to include nursing care in the list of industries in which foreign trainees can work under the Technical Intern Training Program, following the related legislation’s passage through the Upper House". Japan Times, Nov 18, 2016.
Japanese firms employing foreign trainees found violating labor laws in record numbers A survey mainly by labor standards inspection offices found that violations of labor standards, industrial safety and other laws were found at 3,695 such employers, or 70 percent of the total surveyed. Japan Times, 17 Aug 2016.
Japan Skirts Immigration Debate by Offering ‘Internships’ to Foreigners Shinzo Abe’s government looks to extend programs criticized by U.S. as fraught with rights abuses This article looks at plans to extend the Technical Internship Training Program to include care workers and possibly workers in convenience stores. Wall Street Journal, 14 Apr 2015,
Foreign nursing care workers to be invited to Japan under intern program The health ministry has approved a plan to include nursing care under the technical intern training program for foreigners to help increase the number of foreign care workers and solve a labor shortage in Japan’s aging society. Japan Times, 27 Jan 2015.
Japan's trainee program faces tighter oversight Japan will strengthen oversight of its foreign trainee program that critics say serves as a hotbed for forced labor and other human rights violations. Nikkei Asian Review, 13 Jan 2016.
Japan sanctioning mass ‘slave labor’ by duping foreign trainees, observers say “This trainee program is a system of slave labor. You cannot just quit and leave. It’s a system of human trafficking, forced labor,” said Ippei Torii, director of Solidarity Network With Migrants Japan, a nongovernmental group that supports foreign workers. Japan Times, 23 Nov 2014.
Japan moves to expand controversial foreign worker scheme Japan is considering expanding a controversial program that now offers workers from China and elsewhere permits to work for up to three years, as the world's fastest-aging nation scrambles to plug gaps in a rapidly shrinking workforce.Reuters, 1 Apr 2014. The article looks at the government's view as well as the criticisms of the scheme by a labour lawyer, Shoichi Ibusuki.
Foreign trainee program given OK for expansion Extra labor urgently needed for 2020 Games, Tohoku rebuilding This article looks at the government's decision to expand the internship training programme and criticism of it from the Japanese Association of Bar Associations, Japan Times, 4 Apr 2014.
Oversight of foreign trainee program a joke: internal affairs ministry The vast majority of improper practices taking place in the name of technological training for foreigners are overlooked when the companies are audited, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry revealed Friday. Japan Times, 23 Apr, 2013.
Interns abused as labor crisis grows: Foreign recruits discover dark side of Japan's 'training programs' The most recent government data show there are about 155,000 technical interns in Japan. Nearly 70 percent are from China, where some labor recruiters require payment of bonds worth thousands of dollars to work in Japan. Interns toil in apparel and food factories, on farms and in metal-working shops. In these workplaces, labor abuse is endemic: A 2012 investigation by labor inspectors found that 79 percent of the companies that employed interns were breaking labor laws. Japan Times, 12 Jun, 2014.
Invite foreign interns to settle in Japan, think tank says A Tokyo think tank, the Japan Centre for International Exchange (JCIE), says the nation should replace its discredited national foreigners’ trainee program with a system that invites overseas interns to settle in Japan, which would help solve an immediate labor shortage and an approaching demographic crisis. Japan Times, Oct 29, 2014.
Japan’s foreign trainee program suffering from shocking lack of oversight: Dysfunctional program has seen more than 300 deaths since 1992. Japan Times, 13 Aug 2014.
Sour Strawberries is a documentary from 2008 on migrant workers, human right, exploitation and discrimination in Japan. It tells the story of two Nikkei-Jin workers from Peru and Brazil and three Chinese participants of the International Training Program.
Foreign Workers in Japan: Temporary Workers Suffer Poor Conditions A video report that looks at good and bad examples of the program. "About 180,000 foreign trainees work in Japan, and most of them come from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Training these young foreign workers is a plan endorsed by the Japanese government and is supposed to benefit both countries. But many say they are being exploited, and last year, a record number of 34 foreign workers had died." Aljazeera, 27 Oct, 2009.
More Japan Times stories on foreign trainees
Japan Training Program Is Said to Exploit Workers Critics say foreign trainees have become an exploited source of cheap labor in a country with one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations and lowest birthrates. It includes a video about this issue and the work that Japanese lawyers are doing to protect the trainees. New York Times, 20 July, 2010.
Three Years After: Businesses in disaster-hit areas relying on foreign trainees In areas recovering from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, businesses struggling to secure workers are increasingly turning to foreign trainees. Asahi Shimbun, 7 Mar 2014.
Training program for foreign construction workers needs serious overhaul This article discusses shortages of labour in Japan caused by the reconstruction work in Tohoku and preparations for the Tokyo Olympics and argues that the government's plans to make it easier to use foreign interns on the technical training program to meet this labour shortage is dangerous. Asahi Shimbun, 30 Jan, 2014.
>>> More on Tokyo Olympics, foreign workers and multiculturalism >>>
Labor policy message to foreigners; Thanks. Now go home This editorial criticises government plans to allow foreigners, especially interns on the technical training program, to stay longer to meet Japan's labour shortage for the Olympics, but then to have to leave when Japan now longer needs them. Asahi Shimbun, 19 Apr 2014
Flawed foreign labor plan This editorial argues that the Abe Government's plans to use foreign labour to make up for labour shortages, including for Olympic construction work, has not been discussed enough and will cause problems. The idea to expand use of the technical internship program, which should be used to train people from Asian countries nit use them as cheap labour, is particular problematic. Japan Times, 15 Apr, 2014.
Foreign trainee system said still plagued by rights abuses "Allegations of abuses, including exploitation of cheap labor, confinement, poor or no wages and other rights violations, have been laid against the program from early on, and human rights lawyers are now calling for the system to be terminated." Japan Times, 9 Apr, 2013.
U.N. rights rapporteur says end foreign trainee program ‘slavery’ Jorge Bustamante, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights of migrants urged the government Wednesday to terminate its industrial trainee and technical intern program for workers from overseas, saying it may amount to “slavery” in some cases, fueling demand for exploitative cheap labor in possible violation of human rights....“Racism and discrimination based on nationality are still too common in Japan, including in the workplace, in schools, in health care establishments and housing,” he said. Japan Times, April 1, 2010.
Foreign trainees facing chronic abuses: Firms refuse to stop exploiting interns as cheap labor, leading many to quit Japan's industrial training and technical internship programs, mainly for young people from China and Southeast Asia, are being used by some companies as a source of cheap labour. Some foreign interns have been underpaid or forced to take unproductive jobs unconnected to training. Japan Times, Jan 3, 2007.
Abuse rife within trainee system, say NGOs: Foreigners report harsh job conditions, poverty-line pay, mistreatment under notorious program This article describes the exploitative conditions being faced by interns and technical trainees, mostly from China, and the work of NGOs to support them through legal action and providing them with shelter. Japan Times, Dec. 7, 2010.
Dry-cleaning company boss reported to prosecutors over treatment of Chinese trainees The Kofu Labor Standards Inspection Office has sent documents to public prosecutors accusing a dry-cleaning company president of violating labor and wage laws by making Chinese trainees work for pay below the minimum wage. Mainichi Daily News, April 21, 2009.
Ibaraki labor office marks a first: '08 foreign trainee death 'karoshi' A labor office in Ibaraki Prefecture has deemed that a Chinese trainee at a local firm died in 2008 due to overwork, marking the first recognized "karoshi" death of a foreign intern under a government-authorized training program. The articvle incvludes claims that many trainees have diedand that the program is really a form of slavery not training. Japan Times, Jan. 13, 2011.
U.N. rights rapporteur says end foreign trainee program 'slavery' A visiting U.N. expert on the rights of migrants urged the government Wednesday to terminate its industrial trainee and technical intern program for workers from overseas, saying it may amount to "slavery" in some cases, fueling demand for exploitative cheap labor in possible violation of human rights. Japan Times, April 1, 2010.
Foreign trainee abuse found at 452 entities The Justice Ministry says it has found irregularities at a 452 companies and organizations that hosted foreign trainees last year. The Yomiuri Shimbun, 11 Apr, 2009.
Foreign Trainees In Japan Defend Their Rights by Michiko Hiroki An article about foreign trainees in Japan, many female, gathering to share experiences and overcome common abuses. Includes information on the situation of the trainees and the kinds of work they do. Asia Monitor Resource Centre, 2008.
Japan firms exploiting foreign trainees Japan’s industrial training and technical internship programmes, mainly for young people from China and Southeast Asia, have been shaken by revelations that some firms are exploiting the programme to save costs. Some foreign interns in the programmes have been underpaid or forced to take unproductive jobs unconnected to training. The Financial Express, Dec 28, 2006.
Foreign trainees at Japan firms growing rare The economic crisis is taking a toll on foreign trainees in Japan. Preliminary data compiled by the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization show that the number of companies' applications for permitting foreigners into Japan as trainees or technical interns last October fell 18.8 percent from a year earlier to 4,753. Japan Times, Feb. 2, 2009.
1,000 foreign trainees forced to return home as firms feel pinch More than 1,000 foreign trainees involved in government programs were forced to return home as sponsor companies have been suffering from the deteriorating economy, a government survey has revealed. Mainichi Japan, April 7, 2009.
Foreign female interns to sue Toyota subcontractor Six Vietnamese women who came to Japan for industrial training and an internship will sue a subcontractor of Toyota Motor Corp. for more than 30 million yen in damages and unpaid wages. The women claim that JITCO, the government agency in charge of the training program, knew about their situation but did nothing to help. Japan Times, 9 Mar 2007.
'Trainees' a burden in these times and Agricultural 'trainees' a godsend Two letter to the Japan Times giving different views on the training programme.
Foreign trainee system said still plagued by rights abuses "Allegations of abuses, including exploitation of cheap labor, confinement, poor or no wages and other rights violations, have been laid against the program from early on, and human rights lawyers are now calling for the system to be terminated." Japan Times, 9 Apr, 2013.
Abuse rife within trainee system, say NGOs: Foreigners report harsh job conditions, poverty-line pay, mistreatment under notorious program This article describes the exploitative conditions being faced by interns and technical trainees, mostly from China, and the work of NGOs to support them through legal action and providing them with shelter. Japan Times, Dec. 7, 2010.
Labor office recognizes overwork death of foreign intern for 1st time A labor office in Ibaraki Prefecture has found that a Chinese trainee at a local firm died in 2008 due to overwork, marking the first recognized death from overwork of a foreign intern under a government-authorized training program. The trainee's family was represented by Shoichi Ibusuki, the lawyer of the Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union.
Japan’s foreign trainee program suffering from shocking lack of oversight: Dysfunctional program has seen more than 300 deaths since 1992. Japan Times, 13 Aug 2014.
U.S. State Department recognizes Japanese activist who fights for justice An article about Torii Ippei, an activist who works on behalf of foreign trainees and workers for Zentoitsu Workers Union, Asahi Evening News, 28 Aug 2013.
Japan's Treatment Of Foreign Workers Criticized This story, which you can read and listen to, looks at the treatment of Japanese-Brazilian workers in Toyota City and Chinese trainees and interns, including the experiences of one who is a strawberry picker. NPR (National Public Radio). May 12, 2009.
New link added 24th Nov 2014 Japanese Agriculture and Migration: Big Farms deeply depending on the Technical Intern Training Program by Mitsuyoshi Ando (Tokyo University) & Kenji Horiguchi (Waseda University), Migration Papers, University of California Davis, no date (but after 2011 so quite recent). The authors see the Technical Intern Training Program as "a legal loophole to hire low wage farm worker from abroad" and discuss the situation of trainees in agricultural work in Japan.
Film exposes struggles of Japan’s ‘hidden’ workers The documentary “Sour Strawberries: Japan’s Hidden ‘Guest Workers,’ ” depicts the struggles of non-Japanese in Japan as they strive for their rights as workers and citizens. Filmed by a Japanese and German film crew in March 2008, the documentary focuses on the experiences of nikkeijin (economic migrants) and “trainees” who can mostly only find short-term employment in low-wage sectors. Japan Times, 27 Mar 2009.
Trainees' a burden in these times and Agricultural 'trainees' a godsend Two letter to the Japan Times giving different views on the training programme.
Japan's Treatment Of Foreign Workers Criticized This story, which you can read and listen to, looks at the treatment of Japanese-Brazilian workers in Toyota City and Chinese trainees and interns, including the experiences of one who is a strawberry picker. NPR (National Public Radio). May 12, 2009.
Labor office recognizes overwork death of foreign intern for 1st time A labor office in Ibaraki Prefecture has found that a Chinese trainee at a local firm died in 2008 due to overwork, marking the first recognized death from overwork of a foreign intern under a government-authorized training program. The trainee's family was represented by Shoichi Ibusuki, the lawyer of the Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union.
U.S. State Department recognizes Japanese activist who fights for justice An article about Torii Ippei, an activist who works on behalf of foreign trainees and workers for Zentoitsu Workers Union, Asahi Evening News, 28 Aug 2013.
JITCO (Japan International Training Cooperation Organization), website of the program which runs the Technical Internship Training programme.
Advocacy Network for Foreign Trainees This is an organisation that provides legal advice and toehr support for interns and trainees and campaigns for improvements in the program. Mostly in Japanese and Chinese but has Q&A for foreign trainees and technical interns in English.
Rights of Immigrants Network in Kansai An organisation that provides help to foreign workers including interns and trainees.
Gaikokujin Kenshusei Kenri Network Another organisation that provides support for interns and trainees
外国人研修生問題弁護士連絡会 公式ブログ Lawyer’s Network for Foreign Trainees The lawyers’ network which helps foreign trainees.
Foreign trainees network Fukui （外国人研修生ネットワーク）
Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union - Shoichi Ibusuki, who represents trainees, is a lawyer for this organization.
Zentoitsu Workers Union - Torii Ippei represents foreign trainees at this union