An Investigation of Foreign Workers on Japanese Farms Mainly Composed of Rapidly Increasing Technical Interns as Unskilled Labor with Newly Coming Skilled Labor Receiving Engineer/Human Visas

Abstract

This study makes clear that the role of foreign workers on Japanese farms has become very important both quantitatively and qualitatively. The main type of foreign workers supporting Japanese farms is technical interns and they now comprise more than 10% of all employees on farms with a higher share of farmers working in several areas where foreign workers are being permitted for kinds of agriculture due to technical intern training programs. The current keen lack of labor has made Japanese agriculture accept more foreign workers not only unskilled technical interns, but also skilled labor receiving engineer/human visas after graduating from foreign colleges.