"Reimaging Japan's relations with foreign workers,"

In May 2023, an expert panel submitted a mid-term report to the Minister of Justice in Japan proposing to abolish the country’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)...

...the TITP has been criticised both domestically and globally. Despite its aim to foster the development of trainees through on-the-job training, the TITP opened a side door for employers to secure cheap labour. The program has been a hotbed of labour problems, including violations of Japan’s Labour Standards Law and the physical and psychological abuse of trainees. As of 2018, nearly 3000 TITP trainees escaped from their workplaces. Two-thirds of trainees were being forced to work for below minimum wage.

Given such problems, the panel proposed that the government replace the TITP with a new program that redefines foreign workers not only trainees but also labourers essential to Japan’s workforce...

Aiming to protect the trainees and their basic rights, the panel also proposed to ease the restriction on switching jobs in Japan...

Still, some criticise these proposals as superficial because the program’s main purpose — the ‘capacity development’ of trainees — will remain intact. Abolishing the TITP is not a remedy in itself, but merely a first step toward reform.

From an institutional perspective, Japan must overhaul the function and responsibility of key stakeholders involved in the process of receiving foreign workers...

To enhance the monitoring system, Japan must also collect statistical data on foreign workers properly...

The government should also collaborate with partner countries to improve the transparency of the program.