Paper short abstract:

The paper will examine the evolution of Japanese immigration policy within the past three decades in the context of migration in East Asia, explore the transformation of the composition of foreign labor force and analyze the ongoing debate on migration as a way of solving the aging problem.

Paper long abstract:

Japan as one of the most technologically advanced states tries to reshape the traditional ways of work organization in the search for new opportunities as it keeps struggling with progressing aging of society. While the introduction of new technologies partly compensates vigorous labor demand, migrant labor turned to be the easiest way to immediately fill the gap in many unskilled occupations. From the late 1980s, the progressing aging of society forced the Japanese government to gradually relax its immigration law and introduce the policies of internationalization (kokusaika) and "cross-cultural co-existence" (tabunka kyousei). Over three decades, some specific groups of migrants such as people of Japanese descent (nikkeijin) were granted special residence permit, while some side-door mechanisms such as trainee system (ginou jisshuusei seido) were established. Finally, in November 2018, the Japanese government introduced its "specified skill visa" (tokutei ginou biza) in order to attract some 340,000 new workers. The structure of migrant labor force in Japan has also changed significantly within the last three decades. Some oldcomer ethnic groups had gradually been replaced by newcomers of a different origin. Inevitably, the growth and diversification of migrant population in Japan had certain impact on Japanese perception of themselves, society and its future. Although the increase and diversification of immigrant flows has not been received negatively, the debate on migrant society and its role continue to unfold. In this respect, Japan is not alone in elaborating a policy of cautious and gradual introduction of migrant labor. Its neighbor, the Republic of Korea, suddenly introduced the policy of multiculturalism in 2006, suddenly going ahead of Japan, which trainee system had been a model for the ROK until the early 2000s. Some Chinese cities also see the formation of migrant communities. The paper will examine the evolution of Japanese immigration policy within the past three decades in East Asian context, explore the transformation of the composition of foreign labor force and analyze the ongoing debate on migration as a way of solving the aging problem.