The Problem of the Technical Internship System: Death and Labor Shadows in the 2010s

The Problem of the Technical Internship System: Death and Labor Shadows in the 2010s

The fact that 174 foreign technical intern trainees died in just nine years from 2010 to 2018 was a shocking figure that illuminates the dark side of Japanese society. The causes of death included brain and heart disease, overwork, and even suicide, with long working hours and poor work environments lying in the background. The technical internship system was originally established in 1993 for the purpose of "technology transfer to developing countries," but in reality, the system has turned into a place for low-wage labor to fill labor shortages, and many foreign workers have been forced to work while deprived of their rights.

In the 2010s, the economic stagnation after the Lehman Shock, reconstruction demand after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and an increasingly severe labor shortage combined to accelerate the reliance on foreign labor in the construction, agricultural, and nursing care industries. However, the supervision of the host countries has been inadequate, and human rights abuses such as passport confiscation, nonpayment of overtime wages, and concealment of work-related accidents have occurred frequently. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has criticized the system as "modern-day slave labor. The contradictions in the system became a social problem and was frequently brought up in the Diet.

In 2017, the Law for Appropriate Implementation of Technical Intern Training for Foreigners came into effect, introducing a system of permission by supervisory organizations and audits by third parties. In 2018, the number of missing trainees exceeded 9,000, revealing a structure in which many of them are illegally employed.

This problem is not merely a failure of foreign labor policy, but poses fundamental questions for Japanese society: Who will be responsible for the shortage of labor and how will the lives and rights of workers be protected? In the latter half of the 2010s, Japan stood at a crossroads: whether to preserve the technical internship system or to shift to a system that accepts foreign nationals as workers.