OSAKA - The number of foreign workers in Japan has reached a record high, but illegal employment is also rising sharply. Last year alone, more than 6,500 foreign nationals disappeared after arriving in Japan to work, often caught between exploitative brokers, low wages, and harassment in the workplace.
In Tokushima Prefecture, Vietnamese and Myanmar nationals can be found working as technical trainees or under specified skilled worker programs. At one farm producing and selling green onions, 17 of its 40 employees are foreign workers. Japan counted more than 2.3 million foreign workers in 2023, the highest ever, with Vietnamese making up around 570,000 — the largest group by nationality.
Many come to Japan to earn money, noting that wages are several times higher than in their home countries. Some say the work is demanding but rewarding. Employers, facing acute labor shortages in sectors such as agriculture, depend heavily on foreign workers. Some companies offer hourly wages as high as 1,400 yen for highly skilled individuals, and take steps such as inspecting candidates’ home countries or arranging separate housing by nationality to provide support. Still, cases of workers suddenly disappearing persist, often lured by brokers promising higher pay elsewhere.
In Nara Prefecture, police recently arrested Ryuuji Ohashi, the de facto head of a staffing company, and two associates on suspicion of illegally employing Vietnamese nationals without valid work permits at a waste collection firm in Osaka. Investigators believe Ohashi acted as a broker, arranging illegal employment for multiple Vietnamese. Separately, in Kobe, three people were arrested last week for making Vietnamese work illegally as hairdressers without proper qualifications.
Interviews with support groups reveal a deeper problem. A Vietnamese man who had been in Japan only three months said he suffered violence from his supervisor at a sheet metal company. Support organizations report receiving 10 to 20 consultation requests daily, ranging from wrongful dismissal to harassment. Some even provide video evidence of foreign workers being physically abused by supervisors.
According to Yoshimizu, head of a nonprofit supporting Vietnamese, illegal employment is driven not only by low wages and harassment but also by brokers who dangle offers of higher pay. In 2023, 6,510 technical trainees went missing. One man who disappeared admitted he sought higher income to repay debts from coming to Japan, sending money home while moving from one job to another without authorization. Eventually he was arrested and deported.
Experts argue that Japan’s technical intern training program is poorly managed, with employers often misunderstanding or misusing it. The government plans to replace it with a new system in two years, allowing workers to switch companies if certain conditions are met. While the reform is expected to improve working conditions, critics warn that without stronger oversight of exploitative employers and better protection for workers, disappearances and illegal employment will persist.
Source: KTV NEWS
