The Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) newspaper reported on the 9th that the value of the Japanese yen has fallen by 40% over the past 10 years (to the dollar), turning a red light on securing overseas workers from Southeast Asia and other countries. This is because foreign workers’ wages have decreased in terms of their own currency due to a sharp drop in the yen’s value at a time when wages in Japan are not increasing.
According to Nikkei, the non-profit corporation (NPO) MP Research Group, which helps construction engineers enter Japan in Vietnam, is expected to fall short of the recruitment quota this fall. In 2019 alone, many Vietnamese young people, five times the recruitment capacity of 50, flocked. However, the situation changed rapidly with the depreciation of the yen. In the past two years, the yen has fallen more than 20% compared to the Vietnamese currency (copper). The wage of foreign construction engineers in Japan is around 200,000 yen a month, but skilled workers in Vietnam receive about 25 million dongs a month, so there is no reason to come to Japan. The average wage in the non-manufacturing sector in Hanoi, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Manila is still around 20 to 30% in Japan, but the wages of construction engineers and nursing personnel have reportedly risen to 50 to 70%.
The number of foreign workers in Japan stood at 1.72 million last year, accounting for 2.5 percent of the total labor force. This is 2.5 times higher than 10 years ago. Nikkei reported, “Japan needs about 5 million more foreign workers than it currently does by 2040.”
The Japanese government will resume visa exemptions for 68 countries around the world from the 11th.
COVID-19 quarantine procedures have also been simplified, and if you have a certificate that you have been vaccinated three times recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), visitors will be exempted from testing before boarding an aircraft bound for Japan. If you do not have a certificate, you must submit a negative test certificate at the test before departure within 72 hours of departure.
In principle, inspection after arrival in Japan and quarantine after entry will also be eliminated. However, if you have suspected symptoms of infection, you should be tested, and if you are tested positive, you should be quarantined at a designated accommodation
