Page 10 - aruba-today-20181208

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 8 december 2018
Japan to OK divisive bill allowing more foreign workers

By MARI YAMAGUCHI categories of workers will
Associated Press be accepted beginning
TOKYO (AP) — Japan is in April: less-skilled workers
preparing to officially open and former interns with ba-
the door to foreign work- sic Japanese competency
ers to do unskilled jobs and are allowed to stay in the
possibly eventually be- country for only up to five
come citizens. years as visitors and cannot
Lawmakers were to vote bring in family members.
early Saturday on govern- That is meant to encour-
ment-proposed legislation age them to leave when
allowing hundreds of thou- their visas expire, prevent-
sands of foreign laborers to ing them from settling in
live and work in a country Japan.
that has long resisted ac- The second category,
cepting outsiders. The bill is those with higher skills, Jap-
expected to pass because anese language and cul-
of the ruling party's majority tural understanding, would
in parliament. be allowed to bring their
It's seen as an unavoidable families and apply for citi-
step as the country's popu- zenship after living in Japan
lation of about 126 million for 10 years if they commit
rapidly ages and shrinks. no crimes.
Many short-handed indus- "Creating new visa statuses
tries, especially in the ser- In this Dec. 6, 2018 photo, Toshihiro Menju, Managing Director and Chief Program Officer to accommodate foreign
vices sector, already rely of Japan Center for International Exchange speaks in Tokyo during an interview with the human resources is our ur-
Associated Press.
heavily on foreign "trainees" Associated Press gent task as we face serious
and language students. labor shortages, especially
The country also selectively eign labor and population than doubled since 2000 to and other infrastructure for at small and medium-size
grants visas to white-collar issues at the Japan Center nearly 1.3 million last year, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. companies," Chief Cabinet
professionals, often from for International Exchange. out of a working-age pop- In many cases the work- Secretary Yoshihide Suga
the west. "Shortages of workers are ulation of 67 million. Work- ers are subjected to poor said Friday.
Bringing in foreign laborers so serious ... that (allowing) ers from developing Asian working conditions and Many Japanese under-
is a last resort after Prime immigrants is the only op- countries used to stay other abuses. stand the need to solve
Minister Shinzo Abe's deep- tion the government can mostly behind the scenes, "I had no time for a holiday. labor shortages. Industry
ly conservative govern- take," he said. but not anymore. Almost ... Even if I worked so hard groups have urged the
ment tried to meet labor Abe's latest plan calls for all convenience stores I still had no money," said government to expand the
shortages by encourag- relaxing Japan's visa re- are partly staffed by Asian Eng Pisey, 33, from Cambo- work visa program so they
ing more employment of quirements in sectors fac- workers and so are many dia, who came to Japan on can legally hire more for-
women and older workers ing severe labor shortages restaurant chains. a training program in 2016 eign workers.
and using more robots and such as construction, nurs- The fastest growing group and worked at a garment But Abe's traditional po-
other automation. ing, farming, transport and of foreign workers is Viet- factory in Tochigi, north of litical base and opposition
"Japan has come to a tourism — new categories namese, many of whom Tokyo. She said she had to groups oppose the change
point where we had to of jobs to be added to the are employed in construc- borrow $4,000 to pay a bro- — for different reasons.
face the reality that there current list of highly skilled tion and nursing. Construc- ker to arrange her job, and Abe has denied that Ja-
is serious depopulation and professionals. tion workers are particularly ended up quitting after be- pan is opening the door to
serious aging," said Toshihi- The number of foreign in demand as Japan rushes coming ill from overwork. immigrants. q
ro Menju, an expert on for- workers in Japan has more to finish building venues Under the legislation, two
Ex-intel chief in South Korea found

dead in possible suicide

Associated Press the allegation. that a suicide note was
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The disaster killed more found.
— A former South Korean than 300 people, mostly The Defense Ministry had
military intelligence chief high school students, and no immediate comment.
was found dead on Friday, touched off widespread South Korea has one of
police said, in a suspected criticism of then President the highest suicide rates
suicide. Park Geun-hye. She was among developed coun-
Former Defense Security eventually ousted from tries. A string of business
Command head Lee Jae- office over a corruption executives, K-pop stars
su was being investigated scandal in March 2017. and other celebrities have
by state prosecutors for al- Police said Lee's body was killed themselves in recent
In this Dec. 3, 2018 photo, former Defense Security Command
head Gen. Lee Jae-su, center, arrives for a court hearing on his legedly ordering the illegal found near a Seoul building years. In July, an opposition
arrest warrant on charges of the illegal surveillance of families surveillance of families of on Friday. lawmaker embroiled in a
of people killed in a 2014 ferry sinking, at the Seoul Central people killed in a 2014 ferry Yonhap news agency said corruption case, Roh Hoe-
District Court in Seoul, South Korea. sinking. Lee, a retired three- Lee appeared to have chan, leapt to his death.q
Associated Press star general, had denied jumped to his death and