Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party announced on Thursday (May 15) that it will establish a special committee to address the ongoing increase in foreign labor. At a party meeting, LDP Policy Chief Gonbei Onodera stated that as the number of foreign workers and tourists grows, issues such as disturbances, crime, and abuse of social security systems are becoming more prominent, and the formation of this committee aims to ensure that foreigners abide by laws and regulations. This policy may lead to further discrimination and exclusion of foreign workers, and its implementation also reflects the growing fascist tendencies within the LDP. Japan’s LDP regards foreign labor as a discordant note in Japanese society, viewing them as flies on the cake of Japan. But is this truly the case?
Foreign Labor System: The Bourgeoisie’s Strategy to Suppress Wages
Since the establishment of the “Technical Intern Training Program” in 1993, the Japanese government has introduced large numbers of foreign workers from Asia and other regions under the guise of “technology transfer.” When promoting the “Technical Intern Training Program,” the LDP emphasized “technology transfer” and “international cooperation,” but in reality, this system has become a channel for importing low-wage labor. According to internal discussions within the LDP, as early as 2018, Senator Yoshio Kimura pointed out that although the introduction of “immigrants” or “pure laborers” was not officially acknowledged, the “Technical Intern Training Program” effectively achieved these goals. He admitted that this practice was criticized as “slave labor,” but it was still implemented under pressure from right-wing forces within the party. [《Report on the LDP’s Foreign Worker Policy—Review and Outlook》]
Moreover, the LDP’s 2019 introduction of the “Specified Skilled Worker” visa plans to accept 820,000 foreign workers over five years starting from 2024, more than doubling the current number. In addition to the specified skilled workers, the Japanese government will also use new systems like “Developmental Employment” to replace unskilled labor under the skill internship scheme, increasing intake numbers. The reason for importing such a large number of foreign workers is to expand the industrial reserve army to suppress domestic workers’ wages. “The value of the labor force is determined by the value of the living resources necessary for production, development, maintenance, and continuation of labor.” The maximum stay for the skill internship visa is three years, and the specified skilled worker visa type 1 is only five years; most foreign workers in Japan cannot stay long-term, which means they rarely have the expenses to support their children or educate them. Additionally, workers often need to pay for their own qualifications to obtain visas, which saves capitalists the cost of training workers in production technology. Even though wages offered to foreign workers are far below those of Japanese workers, they are still generally higher than wages in their home countries, allowing Japanese capitalists to hire large numbers of cheap foreign labor, displacing domestic workers and lowering wages. According to a report on NHK’s website on May 9, data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed that in March this year, due to wages not keeping pace with rising prices, real wages in Japan fell by 2.1%. This marks the third consecutive month of negative growth in real wages. The working conditions for Japanese workers continue to deteriorate. [1]
The Situation of Foreign Workers
The LDP claims that the surge in the foreign population has caused social problems, viewing foreign workers as taking advantage of Japan’s welfare system and exploiting loopholes. However, the reality is that these workers are often assigned to industries with high physical demands and low wages, such as construction, agriculture, and caregiving, doing jobs that native Japanese workers are unwilling to undertake. The “Specified Skilled Worker” visa introduced in 2019 further expanded the scope of foreign labor but did not fundamentally improve their working conditions. According to OECD reports, wages for foreign workers are suppressed; even in the same positions, foreign workers often earn less than Japanese workers. In Japan, foreign workers frequently face low wages, poor working conditions, and insufficient legal protections. For example, workers under the skill internship scheme are often forced to do “3K jobs” (dangerous, dirty, and exhausting), earn below minimum standards, work long hours, and there have been cases of death from overwork [2].
Foreign workers in Japan face multiple forms of oppression. For instance, in 2024, 251 Bangladeshi workers planned to sue two Japanese companies in the United States over issues such as wage deductions and abuse [3]. Foreign workers are often scattered and isolated. As of June 2024, union membership in Japan dropped to 16.3%, the lowest in history. Due to language and nationality differences, the participation of foreign workers in unions is even lower, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and oppression by capitalists. There is a severe hierarchy between skilled and unskilled workers, as well as between native and foreign workers. The nationalist ideology promoted by the bourgeoisie blames the worsening conditions of native workers on the increase in foreign labor, further hindering proletarian solidarity.
When the Japanese bourgeoisie needs to import foreign labor to suppress domestic wages and carry out brutal exploitation, they wave the banner of a “symbiotic society”; when the living conditions of native workers worsen and dissatisfaction with the ruling class grows, they quickly retreat. They push foreign workers to the front as scapegoats while hiding behind the scenes, exploiting workers’ blood and sweat, and then promote the Liberal Democratic Party government as their mouthpiece to attack foreign workers and stir up social chaos. Foreign workers pay high annual pensions and taxes but rarely live long enough to receive benefits, yet they are accused of exploiting Japan’s welfare system—an absurd situation!
Faced with oppression and exploitation, foreign workers and Japanese workers should realize that their fundamental interests are aligned. The ruling class introduces foreign labor to lower wages and create divisions among workers, employing a divide-and-conquer strategy. Only through united struggle can workers resist capitalist oppression and fight for their liberation. “We need the unity of the working class as much as we need bread!”
