Kyodo: Special unemployment office being studied for NJ workers with PR

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Hi Blog. Here’s some very mixed news. The GOJ will study how to offer help unemployed NJ to make sure inter alia their kids stay in school. Thanks, but then it limits the scope to Permanent Residents. Probably a lot more of the NJ getting fired are factory workers here on visas (Trainee, Researcher, etc) that give the employer the means to pay them poorly and fire them at will already. So why not help them too? Oh, they and their kids don’t count the same, I guess. Considering how hard and arbitrary it can be to get PR in the first place, this is hardly fair. Expand the study group to help anyone with a valid visa. Arudou Debito in Sapporo

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Gov’t to set up office to support foreign residents who lose jobs

TOKYO —

The Japanese government will establish an office to study measures to support foreign nationals with permanent residency status who lose their jobs amid the recession, Yuko Obuchi, state minister on Japan’s declining child population, said Friday. ‘‘We would like to expedite studying measures needed based on reports from people concerned on their actual difficulties and needs,’’ she said at a press conference.

Last month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said Japan will provide support to foreign nationals with permanent residency who have lost their jobs and are suffering economic hardship amid the deteriorating economy. ‘‘Japanese people are facing difficulties under current employment conditions, and foreigners must be facing more difficulties,’’ Kawamura said, adding that the government will set up a team to tackle the issue. The measures are expected to include one to help them find jobs and another to help foreign children attend schools, Kawamura said.

ENDS

4 comments on “Kyodo: Special unemployment office being studied for NJ workers with PR

  • I hate the deceptive terminology used for various classes of foreign residents. Whenever I see something about “permanent residents,” my initial reaction is “Are they talking about zainichi, or other people with PR, or something else?”

    Now, here’s the Jiji article in Japanese:

    http://www.jiji.com/jc/zc?k=200901/2009010900319
    定住外国人支援で推進室=年内に総合プラン-政府
     景気の減速で、日系ブラジル人を中心とした定住外国人の生活状況が悪化している問題を受け、政府は9日、内閣府に「定住外国人施策推進室」を設置した。2月にも当面の対策をまとめるほか、年内をめどに中長期的な定住外国人支援に関する総合プランを策定する方針。
     プラン策定に当たっては、定住外国人の多い地域で実態調査を実施するほか、有識者や地方自治体関係者らの意見も聴く。内閣府はプランに盛り込む項目として、(1)定住外国人が住みやすい地域社会づくり(2)雇用対策(3)教育、就学支援-の3分野を想定している。(了)(2009/01 /09-11:19)

    OK, “teijuu gaikokujin?” There’s no legal definition of that term (there is the legal term “teijuusha,” but that’s probably not what’s being discussed here).

    The first informal definition I found, on Hatena Keywords, is:

    “日本社会に長期間、生活の本拠を持ちながら日本国籍を有しないひと。”

    “A person who is living in Japan long-term but isn’t a Japanese national.” Well, that’s sure not the same as “permanent resident.”

    Fire the translators.

    — Thanks for doing the legwork on this, Joe. “Teijuusha” is (according to The Bible, page 32-33) also a formal visa status (translated as “Long-Term Resident” by Immigration), meaning no restrictions on work, perhaps a) of Japanese descent, b) divorced from Japanese national, and/or c) custody of a child with Japanese nationality. It is NOT the same as Permanent Resident (eijuusha, naturally), but you qualify if you have family ties to a Japanese or a Permanent Resident.

    In any case, it does not cover those on work-related or time-limited visas, so my original point about the undue lack of coverage stands.

    Reply
  • I’m almost surprised they don’t include all visa holders, just so they can watch the clock tick down on their visa expiration dates. A job agency would have much more up-to-date contact details to help them round up any visa overstays, don’t you think?

    Reply
  • Why is a separate unemployment agency required anyway? Hello Work is available to all legal residents. Seems to me that these special agencies for foreigners are a great way to keep them out of the normal labor force by further excluding them from unemployed Japanese.

    Reply

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