Abstract
As the working-age population in Japan declines, many industries are now accepting foreign labor. This trend has extended to forestry, despite the lack of experience common in foreign workers. This study focuses on this trend. It reviews the systems governing the acceptance of foreign labor and examines the results and issues from the model projects implemented in Ehime Prefecture. The establishment of a skills-test system is essential for the introduction of technical intern trainees to forestry. The Forestry Skills Improvement Center was established in 2019 for this purpose, but it will take about five years to establish the skills-test system. It is considered essential to expand the organization and strengthen information transmission in these five years. According to the case in Ehime Prefecture, technical interns have high expectations for living in Japan, in terms of both earned wages and skill acquisition. While companies who accept foreign labor feel that the burden of providing technical guidance is not large, it has become clear that the cost of wage payment is considerable. Ultimately, since the acceptance period in the model project is one year, too short to acquire enough skills, it can be said that the results of skill transfer to overseas countries are limited.
