Labor Markets of Japanese-Descended Workers and Foreign Trainees in Japan

In the early 1990s, the inflow of two types of legal foreign workers, descendants of Japanese emigrants and foreign trainees, increased substantially, although the increase in the number of illegal workers was even greater. Exploitation of those in the first category has occurred partly because of inadequate information and illegal brokers but the structural cause is wage inequality between sending and receiving countries. Foreign trainees are often seen as disguised cheap labor which constitutes on important element in the survival strategies of Japanese corporations in the global economy. An improved job placement system, more vigorous methods to combat illegal recruitment, and policies to enhance the economic development of trainee-sending countries are recommended.