FOREIGN WORKERS CHANGE THE FACE OF CENTRAL JAPAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAGOYA 000028 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL CVIS JA BR CH PE SUBJECT: FOREIGN WORKERS CHANGE THE FACE OF CENTRAL JAPAN NAGOYA 00000028 001.2 OF 002 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Despite stereotypes of Japan as a homogeneous nation, long-term foreign resident workers now play a crucial role in the Central Japan economy. Owing to labor shortages and the continuing strength of the regional manufacturing sector (even in the face of rapidly rising fuel and raw material costs),the foreign population of the region has grown dramatically in recent years. In Central Japan the number of Brazilian residents alone is rapidly closing in on 200,000. Foreign workers are now accepted almost universally among regional government and private sector leaders as an indispensable part of Central Japan's economic success and continued health. In response to social issues related to immigrant residents, regional prefectural and local governments have released a joint charter on foreign worker rights. Based on discussions with many business and economic leaders, we expect pressure to grow over time for a legal environment even more welcoming to foreign workers. End summary. Latin Americans in the Land of Toyota -------------- -- ¶2. (U) The most notable group of foreign workers in Central Japan is Brazilians and Peruvians of (at least purported) Japanese descent. Under Japanese immigration law, foreigners with at least one Japanese grandparent are allowed to live and work in Japan for up to three years, with extension possible. Latin Americans make up the lion's share of such workers. In 2006, the last year for which detailed statistics are available, there were 185,915 Brazilian and 20,040 Peruvian residents of the five prefectures covered by the Central Japan Economic Federation (Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Nagano, and Shizuoka). Chinese residents of the same five prefectures totaled 80,284, remarkable for an area of Japan with virtually no long-term Chinese communities (as in places like Yokohama or Kobe). Regional Chinese population increased by over 160 percent in only six years, up from 30,876 in 2002, and the PRC, which had no diplomatic presence in Nagoya until the opening of its consulate in 2005, now has a Nagoya Consulate General with 15 Chinese officers plus local staff. Anticipating a further increase in Peruvian population, Peru opened a consulate general in Nagoya in late 2007. ¶3. (U) Nagoya's Aichi prefecture, traditionally one of the more �0A;socially conservative parts of Japan, has had to adapt to its rapidly increasing foreign population. With 222,184 foreign residents in 2007, Aichi now has the second largest foreign population in Japan after Tokyo, and with foreign residents accounting for just over 3 percent of its population, Aichi has surpassed even Tokyo as the prefecture with the highest ratio of foreigners among its residents. Immigrant Labor Holds Down Factory Jobs -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) In the past, foreigners were often described as doing the "Three D" (dirty, dangerous, or difficult) jobs Japanese workers shunned. The current situation is much different. Foreign workers are employed side-by-side with Japanese employees in ordinary manufacturing jobs throughout the Nagoya area, simply because not enough domestic workers exist to fill them in Central Japan and because of Japan's low labor mobility. In Aichi prefecture in May, the ratio of jobs to job seekers stood at 1.80 jobs available for every worker looking for employment. This imbalance has continued for at least the past five years and is the main factor behind the increase in immigrant workers. Aichi is very much an economic outlier, though. The prefecture with the second highest jobs ratio is Tokyo at 1.36. The national ratio is 0.92. Hokkaido (0.42) and Okinawa (0.41) remain at the bottom of the table, but there has been little influx of Japanese workers from such areas moving to Central Japan. ¶5. (U) Regional companies have widely varying policies toward foreign workers. While Toyota employs virtually none, many of its first and second tier suppliers have very significant numbers of foreign staff, as do manufacturers in a variety of sectors, most notably electronics. For example, a Gifu prefecture Ibiden Co. factory producing computer chip sets we visited has approximately forty percent Brazilian workers, and NAGOYA 00000028 002.2 OF 002 it is not uncommon to see safety and other signs posted in factories written in both Japanese and Portuguese. Dealing With Immigrants -------------- ¶6. (U) While some medium-sized industrial cities like Hamamatsu (19,000 Brazilian residents) and Toyohashi (12,000 Brazilians) have booming foreign populations, the effect of immigrant labor may be felt even more strongly in smaller towns like Mino, Gifu Prefecture, which has a, largely Chinese, foreign population as high as ten percent. Due to Japan's low birth rate, in extreme cases, children of immigrant workers reportedly make up as many as half the students at elementary schools in a few smaller Central Japan towns. However, due to language and other issues, many foreign children remain outside the formal educational system. According to press reports, in Nagano prefecture 16 percent of school-age Brazilians do not attend school. ¶7. (U) To cope with a similar problem, on July 22 the Aichi International Association announced creation of a 700 million yen ($6.6 million) private sector-supported fund to provide Japanese language training for 6,000 non-Japanese speaking children aged 6 to 14 in the prefecture. This is on top of the prefecture's 40 million yen ($375,000) budget for the same purpose. Meanwhile, Aichi prefecture has engaged a Mitsubishi UFJ-affiliated research firm to study foreign child educational issues, with an eye on families of both factory workers and FDI-generating expatriates. ¶8. (U) About a year ago, the Chairman of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Japan complained to us in strong terms that resident Brazilians were often treated as second-class citizens. To cope with the influx of workers and associated social issues, the governments of Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures and Nagoya city issued a joint charter for foreign workers in January 2008. The charter contains six articles dealing with fair labor conditions and the integration of foreign workers into local communities. While this is an issue that continues to tax local governments, the integration of non-Japanese speaking immigrants appears to be moving forward fairly smoothly. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Although the booming Central Japan economy has begun to cool down a bit in the face of increased fuel and metal costs and declining American demand, foreign workers look to be here to stay. Dozens of conversations we've had with local government officials, business leaders, factory foremen and others, clearly indicate a recognition that immigrant labor is essential to the region's economic health. The number of Brazilians willing to move to Japan may have reached a plateau at about 320,000 currently in Japan nationwide, though. We have heard a number of business leaders speculate about the need to expand the loophole allowing Japanese-descended foreigners to work here and open the labor market to Southeast Asians and others willing and able to work in Japan. Because the bulk of foreign factory workers are located outside the Tokyo region, this may be a phenomenon that is not fully understood or appreciated by the central government in the same way it is in other parts of Japan. Nevertheless it is a phenomenon that has already begun to change the face of the nation. ROCHMAN