Japanese firms eye former Vietnamese interns: newspaper
Japanese enterprises are competing to attract Vietnamese workers who used to work in the country as interns after the ‘specified skills visa’ policy was launched on April 1, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported in its July 8 issue.
A Vietnamese intern at a factory in Japan's Niigata prefecture (Source: Reuters)
Tokyo (VNA) – Japanese enterprises are competing to attract Vietnamese workerswho used to work in the country as interns after the ‘specified skills visa’policy was launched on April 1, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported in its July 8issue.
The policy introducesa new visa category that allows foreign workers employed in 14 types of jobs,including nursing care, restaurants and construction, to remain in the countryfor up to five years.
According to thenewspaper, in mid-June the Hanshin union of iron and steel workers, whichincludes manufacturers operating in the iron, steel and machine manufacturingsectors in Hyogo prefecture, organised a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City tointroduce the new visa policy for former Vietnamese interns.
The union’srepresentative showed hope that these interns would return to Japan to work, saidthe article, adding that the union started receiving skilled interns in 2003,and has to date trained around 3,000 foreign workers.
In addition, anotherunion in the construction field is planning to attract former Vietnameseinterns.
However, Japan has sofar made little progress in accepting more foreign workers. As of the end ofJune, there had been 320 applications for the new “specified skilled worker”residence status. Of that number, only 20 applicants had been granted thestatus. This is far from the government’s target of accepting up to 47,550foreign workers this fiscal year.
Among 14 types of jobsregulated in the policy, just three are organising skill tests – a compulsorycondition to receive foreign workers.
As of late 2018, therewere 328,000 foreign interns working in Japan, a half of whom areVietnamese.-VNA
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A Vietnamese intern at a factory in Japan's Niigata prefecture (Source: Reuters) 
