P. M. BRIEFING : Japanese Firms Seek Workers
Small and medium-sized companies asked the Japanese government today to allow more foreigners to fill the country’s labor shortage.
The call came a week after Japan, facing an increasing influx of unskilled workers from its Asian neighbors, decided to tighten controls over unauthorized foreign labor.
“The government has failed to deal with our current situation,” said an official at the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce, which represents 67,000 companies. “We are suffering from a labor shortage. And there are foreign people who want to work here.”
The organization proposed up to 600,000 foreigners be allowed to work in Japan for periods of two years.
Japanese immigration authorities estimate there are now about 100,000 foreigners working without permits in Japan. In 1988 they found about 14,000 unauthorized foreign workers, compared with 8,000 in 1986.
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