'Skilled foreigner' invite too rigid a bar _ The Japan Times.pdf

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10/25/13 'Skilled foreigner' invite too rigid a bar | The Japan Times

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/04/national/skilled-foreigner-invite-too-rigid-a-bar/#.UmpJAvmJXFE 1/5

NATIONAL

Skilled foreigner invite too rigida barMore flexibility, and opportunity, said key to

bringing in the talented

BY TOMOHIRO OSAKI

STAFF WRITER

SEP 4, 2013ARTICLE HISTORYPRINT SHARE More than a year

after its much-hyped introduction, a government-led

initiative to lure highly skilled foreign professionals to

Japan is making lackluster progress, with the number of

those applying for visas under the new system much

smaller than initially envisioned.

Dismayed by the poor performance, the government is

now eyeing a review of the system in the near future, and

may lower hurdles to qualification while tweaking thebenefits. The Justice Ministry says the changes will

hopefully take effect by the end of this year.
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But some experts say that only by a more fundamental

overhaul will the program truly become attractive for

foreigners worldwide, arguing its perks need to go

beyond simply relaxing immigration rules for the

eligible.

The program kicked off in May last year under which

those regarded by the government as highly skilled

professionals can gain access to a batch of preferential

visa perks. People considered highly skilled include

researchers, university professors, doctors, business

managers and engineers.

Many saw this as Japans belated effort to cope with its

rapidly atrophying labor force and low birthrate. The

threat of a demographic crisis looms large in the nation,

as the total population is estimated to plummet to about

90 million by 2050 from the current 127 million.

The system calculates how many points each foreign

professional is worth based on criteria that include their

annual income, academic background and career

history.

Those who earn 70 points or more qualify for a string of

incentives that ease some of their visa restrictions.

Examples include speedier qualification for permanent

residency, permission for spouses to also find work, andrights to bring along their parents and housekeepers.

Despite the original target of 2,000 registrants per year,

the program had lured just 434 people as of April 6,

according to the latest data, including a mere 17 who

applied to the program from overseas and used the

points-based system to enter the country.

Of the total, Chinese accounted for an overwhelming 57

percent, followed by Americans at 7 percent and Indians


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at 4 percent.

Such points-based systems are being employed overseas

as well, especially in pro-immigration nations like the

United Kingdom and Canada, albeit with different

details in content.

Compared with other nations systems, experts say the

Japanese version sets the bar too high in terms of

eligibility requirements for applicants. The conditions

for annual income and educational background in

particular are so demanding that they virtually eliminate

any chance foreign students in Japan are able to qualify.

Yuriko Sato, associate professor of the International

Student Center at the Tokyo Institute of Technology,

said Japan could learn a lot from Australia and its

version of the system.

Overseas students there with certain qualifications, such

as completion of at least two years of course studies, gothrough a designated points test. Once deemed eligible,

foreign students can obtain permanent residency while

also enjoying a slew of other benefits, including

discounted health care and access to certain social

security payouts.

Among items subject to scrutiny are English proficiency,age and work history. Annual income is not a condition

of eligibility.

The Japanese versions penchant for focusing on annual

earnings and academic accomplishments clearly signals

the governments intention to only accept individuals

who are already established, Sato said. Researchers,

for example, may be awarded an extra 15 points if they

have published three papers in the nations well-known

scholarly journals.


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Sato believes this kind of utter indifference to young

hopefuls makes the Japanese system severely flawed.

Generally speaking, overseas students in Japan are

fluent in Japanese, and versed in our culture. So theyre

likely to show greater adaptability to Japans arguablyvery peculiar corporate climate, Sato said, noting their

turnover rate would also be lower.

A government panel led by the Justice Ministry from

April to May discussed how to revise the program,

including the possibility of sweeping changes to the

lineup of perks.

Ideas that emerged included offering eligible foreigners

income tax cuts, addressing their criticisms of Japans

seniority-based corporate society, and improving

laboratory environments for researchers, according to

Immigration Bureau official Yusuke Takeuchi.

None of these dramatic reforms, however, got the greenlight, he said, as such measures would have necessitated

financial commitment. Easing immigration rules, on the

other hand, wouldnt cost the government a dime.

The panel, however, did acknowledge the importance of

doing more than just giving the eligible (candidates)

preferential visa treatments in order to truly attractthose coveted individuals, but stopped short of fleshing

out details.

Specifics agreed upon at the time included making

minor improvements to the perks. Under the current

framework, eligible foreigners would only have to stay a

minimum of five years to apply for permanent residency,

compared with the usual 10. This qualification period

would be shortened to three years.


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Requirements for researchers and professors might also

become looser. More bonus points would be given to

their academic achievements, a change the panel hopes

will offset the disadvantage of their relatively lower

annual incomes.

In response to criticism that the nations point system

places too much emphasis on income levels, the

Immigration Bureaus Takeuchi said the government

views it as an objective barometer of how competent

one is.

But since there were cases where lower earnings

disqualified researchers with otherwise impeccable

backgrounds, the government needs to review the way

it sets annual income requirements, he added.

Despite this, the crux of the programs scant success to

date has been the perceived lack of incentives on the

part of Japanese firms to hire foreign nationals in the

first place, according to Susumu Ishihara, president of

the Japan Immigrant Information Agency.

The same kind of insularity mirrors Japanese

universities, whose boards of directors rarely include

foreigners, Ishihara noted.

Many top politicians also appear to believe allowing aninflux of skilled foreigners would rob Japanese of job

opportunities, he said.

Ishihara believes the points-based system, which he once

celebrated as an unprecedented sign of Japan opening

its gates to foreigners is pretty much the best the nation

can do for now.

'Skilled foreigner' invite too rigid a bar _ The Japan Times.pdf

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