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Population Decline and Immigration Policy:
How Can Japan Become a Country To Be Chosen?

Supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1. Webinar Goals and Participants

In June this year, revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act were passed. The foreign technical intern trainee system, which for over 30 years was one of the ways to hire foreigners as unskilled labor, is being replaced with a new training and employment system. The system aims to both train workers and acquire them for Japan, with trainees intended to acquire Specific Skilled Worker visas after the end of their training period, welcoming foreigners to Japan as workers who might stay in the long term.

 

With Japan’s population decline and super-aging society, foreign workers are already vital to society and the economy, and systems are being prepared to expand the number of foreign workers brought in to make up for the decline in the productive working population. However, until now there has not been a direct, comprehensive discussion of immigration policy overall, including the future of Japanese society and how much Japan intends to become a multiethnic, multicultural nation.

 

This webinar invited leading foreign journalists following immigration issues to hear from them about the challenges facing Japan, including from South Korea, where the population is declining faster than Japan and foreign workers are being brought in thanks to a higher level of remuneration; Vietnam, the country from which the highest number of technical interns come to Japan; and France, one of the earliest countries in Europe to accept immigrants based on the concept of immigrant integration. Together with Japanese experts, they discussed what immigration policy Japan should implement to bring in more foreign workers.

 

A total of 252 people registered to watch the webinar, and 140 joined to watch it live.

 

 

 

2. Program/Links to the Chapters of the Video Clip Above

1.	Opening remarks
2.	Session 1 (keynote speech, initial statements, discussion)
3.	Session 2 (initial statements, discussion)
4.	Q&A
5.	Overall summary
6.	Closing remarks

 

3. Introduction of Panelists

*For details on the webinar and its panelists, see here.

 

[Moderator]　Kazuo Kodama, FPCJ President

 

[Panelists]

Expert/Keynote Speaker
Toshihiro Menju, Visiting professor, Kansai University of International Studies and former Managing Director and Chief Program Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)

 

Foreign Journalists
- Yeong-Hyo Jeong, Economic Desk Deputy Editor/Former Tokyo Bureau Chief, The Korea Economic Daily (South Korea)
- Tuyen Nguyen Cam, Tokyo Bureau Chief, Vietnam News Agency (Vietnam)
- Régis Arnaud, Tokyo Correspondent, Le Figaro (France)

 

 

4. Session Summaries

In preparation.