Can Japan Overcome the Immigration Policy Dilemma?
MENJU Toshihiro / Managing Director, Japan Center for International Exchange
December 16, 2021
Rapid decline in population and increase in foreign residents
Now in the 2020s, Japan has entered the phase of rapid depopulation. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research is assuming that the drop in population in the 2020s will reach 5.5 million people, more than double the 2010s level.
This was further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of births in 2020 was 840,000, marking the lowest on record, and the birthrate fell more rapidly than expected, to 1.34%.
While depopulation accelerated, the number of foreign residents continued to increase until the outbreak of COVID-19. By the end of 2019, the number reached a record-high of 2,930,000, an increase of 200,000 people in one year (7.4% growth). Although the number of new entrants decreased amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, the total number of foreign residents at the end of 2020 remained at 2,890,000, showing only a 1.6 percent yearly drop, underscoring the fact that the foreign residents are settling down in the country.
Foreigners in distress under the COVID-19 pandemic
Were the lives of those foreign residents stable under the pandemic?
At the end of October 2020, the number of migrant workers rose to a record high of 1,720,000, of which those working with either non-regular employment or indirect employment status accounted for an extremely high proportion. As a consequence, many of the migrant workers lost their jobs upon the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, and were forced to take shorter working hours, and fell into distress.
When an NPO, Anti-Poverty Network, distributed the money raised through the fund-raising campaign “Emergency Mutual Support Fund”, it became apparent that there were many foreigners in acute need, and 67 percent of the recipients turned out to be foreign residents. Similarly, when Second Harvest, an NPO giving food aid to the needy, provided food support in September 2020, over 70 percent of the recipients were foreigners.
Immigration policy dilemma
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the settlement of foreign residents and their unstable social status. The lack of clear immigration policy on the part of the Japanese government and its ambiguous attitude toward foreign residents seem to have resulted in the immigrant’s unstable employment status and the delay in their Japanese language education. Even among those who have resided in Japan for a long period, the majority had a low proficiency of Japanese. It became evident that should they lose their jobs, their lack of solid Japanese language skill rendered their re-employment extremely difficult.
The continuing ambiguous attitude of the Japanese government toward immigrant issues is attributable in part to the strident call by certain forces to stigmatize “immigrants”, deeming it a taboo subject. As a result, Japan is trapped in an “immigration policy dilemma”, whereby the foreigners who have in effect settled down in Japan cannot be accepted as “immigrants”. However, as economic recovery proceeds across the world, it is highly likely that there will be a fierce global competition to secure competent human resources. Japan must pull itself out of this immigration dilemma immediately if only to secure human resources.
Expectations placed on the Kishida administration
Prime Minister Kishida’s administration was inaugurated in October 2021. Although the administration has not made clear statement regarding immigrants, it has started to consider, within the framework of the resident status and specialized skills that allow foreign blue workers to work, expanding the job categories which would open the way for them to have accompanying families with them and gain permanent resident status. This is seen by the Japanese media and experts as a positive posture of the government towards accepting immigrants.
At the end of 2018, the Abe administration went ahead with implementing “comprehensive measures for acceptance of and co-existence with foreign human resources”, while disavowing the adoption of any “immigration” policies, and kicked off inter-ministry cooperation for supporting foreign residents. Further, many municipal organizations rapidly adopted “plain Japanese”, an easy-to-understand Japanese for foreigners, and the movement is gradually being spread among some parts of the private sector as well.
Although the policies for acceptance of immigrants are evolving in various fields, there remains uncertainty. The prefectural assembly of Nagano passed a resolution back in October 2020, requesting the government to legislate the basic law for multicultural coexistence, as a step toward asking for a more definite central government response. In order to make a clear break from the immigration policy dilemma, the Kishida administration will need to articulate its position regarding “immigrants”, and make it known both at home and abroad that Japan is making positive changes.
Toshihiro Menju is Managing Director, Japan Center for International Exchange.
Now in the 2020s, Japan has entered the phase of rapid depopulation. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research is assuming that the drop in population in the 2020s will reach 5.5 million people, more than double the 2010s level.
This was further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of births in 2020 was 840,000, marking the lowest on record, and the birthrate fell more rapidly than expected, to 1.34%.
While depopulation accelerated, the number of foreign residents continued to increase until the outbreak of COVID-19. By the end of 2019, the number reached a record-high of 2,930,000, an increase of 200,000 people in one year (7.4% growth). Although the number of new entrants decreased amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, the total number of foreign residents at the end of 2020 remained at 2,890,000, showing only a 1.6 percent yearly drop, underscoring the fact that the foreign residents are settling down in the country.
Foreigners in distress under the COVID-19 pandemic
Were the lives of those foreign residents stable under the pandemic?
At the end of October 2020, the number of migrant workers rose to a record high of 1,720,000, of which those working with either non-regular employment or indirect employment status accounted for an extremely high proportion. As a consequence, many of the migrant workers lost their jobs upon the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, and were forced to take shorter working hours, and fell into distress.
When an NPO, Anti-Poverty Network, distributed the money raised through the fund-raising campaign “Emergency Mutual Support Fund”, it became apparent that there were many foreigners in acute need, and 67 percent of the recipients turned out to be foreign residents. Similarly, when Second Harvest, an NPO giving food aid to the needy, provided food support in September 2020, over 70 percent of the recipients were foreigners.
Immigration policy dilemma
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the settlement of foreign residents and their unstable social status. The lack of clear immigration policy on the part of the Japanese government and its ambiguous attitude toward foreign residents seem to have resulted in the immigrant’s unstable employment status and the delay in their Japanese language education. Even among those who have resided in Japan for a long period, the majority had a low proficiency of Japanese. It became evident that should they lose their jobs, their lack of solid Japanese language skill rendered their re-employment extremely difficult.
The continuing ambiguous attitude of the Japanese government toward immigrant issues is attributable in part to the strident call by certain forces to stigmatize “immigrants”, deeming it a taboo subject. As a result, Japan is trapped in an “immigration policy dilemma”, whereby the foreigners who have in effect settled down in Japan cannot be accepted as “immigrants”. However, as economic recovery proceeds across the world, it is highly likely that there will be a fierce global competition to secure competent human resources. Japan must pull itself out of this immigration dilemma immediately if only to secure human resources.
Expectations placed on the Kishida administration
Prime Minister Kishida’s administration was inaugurated in October 2021. Although the administration has not made clear statement regarding immigrants, it has started to consider, within the framework of the resident status and specialized skills that allow foreign blue workers to work, expanding the job categories which would open the way for them to have accompanying families with them and gain permanent resident status. This is seen by the Japanese media and experts as a positive posture of the government towards accepting immigrants.
At the end of 2018, the Abe administration went ahead with implementing “comprehensive measures for acceptance of and co-existence with foreign human resources”, while disavowing the adoption of any “immigration” policies, and kicked off inter-ministry cooperation for supporting foreign residents. Further, many municipal organizations rapidly adopted “plain Japanese”, an easy-to-understand Japanese for foreigners, and the movement is gradually being spread among some parts of the private sector as well.
Although the policies for acceptance of immigrants are evolving in various fields, there remains uncertainty. The prefectural assembly of Nagano passed a resolution back in October 2020, requesting the government to legislate the basic law for multicultural coexistence, as a step toward asking for a more definite central government response. In order to make a clear break from the immigration policy dilemma, the Kishida administration will need to articulate its position regarding “immigrants”, and make it known both at home and abroad that Japan is making positive changes.
Toshihiro Menju is Managing Director, Japan Center for International Exchange.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
日本は移民ジレンマを克服できるか？
毛受 敏浩 / （公財）日本国際交流センター 執行理事
2021年 12月 16日
加速する人口減少と在留外国人の増加
2020年代になって日本の人口減少は加速するステージに入った。日本の人口減少は2020年代には550万人と10年代の2倍以上に達すると国立社会保障人口研究所は想定している。
それに追い打ちをかけたのがコロナ禍だ。2020年の国内の出生数は統計史上最小の84万人となり出生率も1.34にまで低下し、予測を上回るペースとなった。
人口減少が加速する一方、コロナ禍前まで在留外国人は増え続けていた。2019年末には在留外国人は過去最高の293万人となり、一年間で20万人(7.4％)も増加した。コロナ禍によって新たな入国は減少する中で、20年末の在留外国人数は289万人と1年前に比べて1.6％の減少に留まり、在留外国人の定住化の定着を裏付けた。
コロナ禍で困窮化する外国人
ではコロナ禍で在留外国人の日本での生活は安定していたのだろうか？
日本で働く外国人は、2020年10月末現在、172万人と過去最高となったが、そのうち非正規の雇用、また間接雇用に従事する割合が極めて高い。その結果、多くの外国人労働者はコロナ禍の発生によって雇用を打ち切られ、また時短勤務を余儀なくされ困窮状態に陥った。
NPO、反貧困ネットワークがコロナ禍での国内での困窮者に対する募金活動「緊急ささえあい基金」による給付金を支給した際、数多くの外国人の困窮者がいることがわかり、結果的に受給者の67％が在留外国人となった。また国内の困窮者に食糧支援を行うNPO、セカンドハーベストが2020年9月に実施した食糧支援では利用者の70％以上が外国人となった。
移民ジレンマ
コロナ禍によって在留外国人の定住化と不安定な立場が明らかになったが、政府が明確な移民政策をとらず、在留外国人に対してあいまいな態度をとり続けたことが、彼らの不安定な雇用や日本語学習の遅れに結びついていると考えられる。長期にわたり在留している外国人でもその大多数は日本語能力が低く、一旦、失職すると日本語能力の不足のために再就職が極めて難しいことも今回明らかになった。
政府が移民に関してあいまいな態度をとり続けてきたのは一部の勢力により移民をタブー視する議論が声高に展開されてきたことが影響していると考えられる。つまり、外国人の定住化の事実がありながら彼らを移民として認めない一種「移民ジレンマ」に日本は陥っている。しかし、経済回復が進む各国において今後、世界的な人材獲得競争となる可能性が強く、人材確保の上で日本は早く移民ジレンマから脱する必要がある。
岸田政権への期待
21年10月に岸田政権が発足した。岸田政権は移民について明言はしていないが、同政権はブルーカラーの分野で労働者として外国人の就労を認める在留資格、特定技能において、家族同伴と永住の道を開く労働職種の拡大の検討に入った。これは政府として移民受入れに対する前向きの姿勢と国内のメディアや専門家は考えている。
2018年末、安倍政権では移民政策をとらないとしながらも「外国人材の受け入れ・共生のための総合的対応策」を開始し、在留外国人の支援を行う省庁間の政策協調が始まった。また多くの自治体においては外国人にとって理解が容易な「やさしい日本語（plain Japanese）」の採用が急速に浸透し、一部の企業にも広がりつつある。
様々な局面で実質的には移民受入れ政策が進みつつあるといえるが不透明さが残っている。政府のより明確な対応を求める動きとして、20年10月には長野県議会は多文化共生の基本法を政府に求める議決を行った。移民ジレンマから明確に脱するには、岸田政権は「移民」に関しての意思表示を行い、日本が前向きに変わりつつあることを国内外に知らせる必要があるだろう。
筆者は日本国際交流センター執行理事
2020年代になって日本の人口減少は加速するステージに入った。日本の人口減少は2020年代には550万人と10年代の2倍以上に達すると国立社会保障人口研究所は想定している。
それに追い打ちをかけたのがコロナ禍だ。2020年の国内の出生数は統計史上最小の84万人となり出生率も1.34にまで低下し、予測を上回るペースとなった。
人口減少が加速する一方、コロナ禍前まで在留外国人は増え続けていた。2019年末には在留外国人は過去最高の293万人となり、一年間で20万人(7.4％)も増加した。コロナ禍によって新たな入国は減少する中で、20年末の在留外国人数は289万人と1年前に比べて1.6％の減少に留まり、在留外国人の定住化の定着を裏付けた。
コロナ禍で困窮化する外国人
ではコロナ禍で在留外国人の日本での生活は安定していたのだろうか？
日本で働く外国人は、2020年10月末現在、172万人と過去最高となったが、そのうち非正規の雇用、また間接雇用に従事する割合が極めて高い。その結果、多くの外国人労働者はコロナ禍の発生によって雇用を打ち切られ、また時短勤務を余儀なくされ困窮状態に陥った。
NPO、反貧困ネットワークがコロナ禍での国内での困窮者に対する募金活動「緊急ささえあい基金」による給付金を支給した際、数多くの外国人の困窮者がいることがわかり、結果的に受給者の67％が在留外国人となった。また国内の困窮者に食糧支援を行うNPO、セカンドハーベストが2020年9月に実施した食糧支援では利用者の70％以上が外国人となった。
移民ジレンマ
コロナ禍によって在留外国人の定住化と不安定な立場が明らかになったが、政府が明確な移民政策をとらず、在留外国人に対してあいまいな態度をとり続けたことが、彼らの不安定な雇用や日本語学習の遅れに結びついていると考えられる。長期にわたり在留している外国人でもその大多数は日本語能力が低く、一旦、失職すると日本語能力の不足のために再就職が極めて難しいことも今回明らかになった。
政府が移民に関してあいまいな態度をとり続けてきたのは一部の勢力により移民をタブー視する議論が声高に展開されてきたことが影響していると考えられる。つまり、外国人の定住化の事実がありながら彼らを移民として認めない一種「移民ジレンマ」に日本は陥っている。しかし、経済回復が進む各国において今後、世界的な人材獲得競争となる可能性が強く、人材確保の上で日本は早く移民ジレンマから脱する必要がある。
岸田政権への期待
21年10月に岸田政権が発足した。岸田政権は移民について明言はしていないが、同政権はブルーカラーの分野で労働者として外国人の就労を認める在留資格、特定技能において、家族同伴と永住の道を開く労働職種の拡大の検討に入った。これは政府として移民受入れに対する前向きの姿勢と国内のメディアや専門家は考えている。
2018年末、安倍政権では移民政策をとらないとしながらも「外国人材の受け入れ・共生のための総合的対応策」を開始し、在留外国人の支援を行う省庁間の政策協調が始まった。また多くの自治体においては外国人にとって理解が容易な「やさしい日本語（plain Japanese）」の採用が急速に浸透し、一部の企業にも広がりつつある。
様々な局面で実質的には移民受入れ政策が進みつつあるといえるが不透明さが残っている。政府のより明確な対応を求める動きとして、20年10月には長野県議会は多文化共生の基本法を政府に求める議決を行った。移民ジレンマから明確に脱するには、岸田政権は「移民」に関しての意思表示を行い、日本が前向きに変わりつつあることを国内外に知らせる必要があるだろう。
筆者は日本国際交流センター執行理事
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟