Local Differences in Japan's “Guest-Worker” Program:

Analysis of the Seafood Processing Industry

Abstract

Since its establishment, Japan's Technical Intern Training Program has worked as a de facto guest-worker program for companies and industries short on labor. Previous studies on the employment of technical intern trainees focus on local industries that use this program to show why trainees are necessary and how they work. However, little is known about whether local differences exist in the use of the program, and if so, why. By investigating these issues, this study attempts to understand the factors shaping labor demand for technical intern trainees. Focusing on the seafood processing industry, the study obtains two sets of results. First, an analysis using the 2013 Census of Fisheries shows significant local differences in the introduction of technical intern trainees. Second, the interviews with managers of seafood processing companies in Town A in Kinki region reveal two interrelated factors, which dampen local demand for technical intern trainees. First, employers prefer local female part-time employees as flexible labor force for limited and unstable operations, and second, limited work options for local employees, and the relative ease with which employers with limited and unstable operations concede employees' requests for changing work shifts, both of which ensure that employers secure local workers. These results indicate that the type of production activity, in addition to the job characteristics of the industry, is a factor that shapes the demand for technical intern trainees. The study also discusses an implication of the program and the survival of local industries in the era of population decline and aging.