{"id":7910,"date":"2010-11-25T09:02:15","date_gmt":"2010-11-25T00:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=7910"},"modified":"2010-11-25T11:53:19","modified_gmt":"2010-11-25T02:53:19","slug":"japan-businesses-cry-foul-over-uk-visa-regime-threaten-pullout-fancy-that-happening-to-the-goj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=7910","title":{"rendered":"Japan businesses cry foul over UK visa regime, threaten pullout. Fancy that happening to the GOJ."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Handbook<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"Foreign<\/a>\"\\\"<\/a>\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\"<\/a>\"JAPANESE<\/a>\"sourstrawberriesavatar\"<\/a>\"debitopodcastthumb\"<\/a>
\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito
\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS now on iTunes, subscribe free<\/p>\n

Hi Blog.\u00a0 Here’s another entry for the “shoe on the other foot” department — how Japan businesses squeal “foul!” when they face visa restrictions on their Japanese hires within Britain, and threaten sanctions and pullouts.\u00a0 Imagine if a foreign government were to try to do that to Japan for its visa programs, which are technically designed to give backdoor preferential treatment to unskilled workers<\/a>? I’m pretty sure people would comment that the GOJ has the right to regulate its borders as it sees fit.\u00a0 Never mind comity, I guess. Arudou Debito<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Firms pan U.K. immigration plan
\nCuts in investment threatened if cap is placed on skilled workers
\nThe Japan Times, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010<\/strong>, courtesy of Getchan<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/cgi-bin\/nb20101120a1.html<\/a>
\nBy WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH
\nKyodo News<\/strong><\/p>\n

LONDON \u2014 Japanese firms are threatening to review future plans to invest in Britain if the new government follows through with its proposal to put an annual cap on immigration levels.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Corporate executives have told ministers that moves to limit the number of skilled people from outside the European Union who can be employed in Britain will seriously harm their businesses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japanese firms are particularly concerned about plans to curb the number of senior staff who can engage in short-term intracorporate transfers, as well as limits on recruiting skilled staff from outside the EU.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Britain’s new center-right government has decided to cap immigration due to growing concern that non-EU citizens are taking jobs away from the British.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In July, an interim cap was imposed on skilled workers, but ICTs are currently exempted. But a new cap will be introduced in April, and ministers are consulting on how big it should be and which sectors should be covered, including possibly ICTs.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Critics say Indian ICTs to Britain have been conducted in order to acquaint staff with information technology functions so the work can later be sent overseas. They also claim there are plenty of unemployed British IT workers who could perform the jobs.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government is aiming to bring immigration down to “tens of thousands” each year compared with hundreds of thousands under the previous government.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japanese firms say it is unfortunate that a new system designed to crack down on abuses might hamper those who have always followed the rules.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“The JCCI has communicated to U.K. ministers and officials in September its strong concerns about the introduction of further limits on non-EU immigration and the possible impact on the existing operations and future investment of Japanese companies in the U.K.,” said Patrick Macartney, manager at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The local Japanese automakers, which regularly transfer high-tech engineers from Japan to Britain, have been lobbying hard to get ICTs exempted from the proposed cap. The urgency is underlined by the fact that both Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have just announced major new investments in environment-friendly cars.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But the newly imposed cap on skilled workers is already impacting Japanese firms in Britain.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Katsuji Jibiki, a human-resources manager at Mitsubishi Electric Europe, revealed at a recent business seminar that his firm has been denied work permits to recruit about 30 engineers from outside the European Union.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He said, “These days we have big difficulties with work permits. Every year the government changes the policy and it is a big headache for us.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jibiki added that if the problems persist “there is a possibility of transferring our regional headquarters from the U.K. to continental Europe. We are thinking about such contingency plans.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rest of the article at http:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/cgi-bin\/nb20101120a1.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Japanese firms lobby British government to rethink immigration plans<\/h1>\n

Kyodo News\/Japan Today, November 23, 2010, courtesy of MMT<\/p>\n

http:\/\/japantoday.com\/category\/lifestyle\/view\/japanese-firms-lobby-british-government-to-rethink-immigration-plans#show_all_comments<\/a><\/p>\n

LONDON \u2014<\/p>\n

Japanese firms are threatening to review future investments in Britain if the government goes ahead with plans to put an annual cap on immigration levels.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Company bosses have told ministers that moves to limit the number of skilled citizens from outside the European Union that can be employed in Britain will seriously harm their businesses.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Japanese firms are particularly concerned about plans to curb the number of senior staff who can be transferred from Japan on a short-term basis, or intra-corporate transfers, as well as limits on recruiting skilled staff from outside the European Union.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The new center-right government has decided to impose a cap on immigration due to growing concern that non-EU citizens are taking jobs that could be done by skilled British people.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In July, an interim cap was imposed on skilled workers but ICTs are currently exempted. A new cap will be introduced in April and ministers are consulting on the size of the cap and which sectors should be covered, including possibly ICTs.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Critics say some Indian ICTs to Britain have been conducted in order to acquaint staff with information technology functions so that the work can later be offshored. They also claim that there are plenty of unemployed British IT workers who could carry out the jobs.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The government is aiming to bring immigration down to \u2018\u2018tens of thousands\u2019\u2019 each year from hundreds of thousands under the previous government.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Japanese firms say it is unfortunate that a new system designed to crack down on abuses could hamper those who have always followed the rules.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Patrick Macartney, manager at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Kyodo News, \u2018\u2018The JCCI has communicated to UK ministers and officials in September its strong concerns about the introduction of further limits on non-EU immigration and the possible impact on the existing operations and future investment of Japanese companies in the UK.\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Japanese car companies in Britain, which regularly transfer high-tech engineers from Japan to Britain, have been lobbying the government hard to exempt ICTs from the proposed new cap. The urgency is underlined by the fact that both Nissan Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp have just announced major new investments in eco-friendly cars.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But the newly imposed cap on skilled workers is already impacting on Japanese firms in Britain.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Katsuji Jibiki, a human resources manager at Mitsubishi Electric Europe, revealed at a recent business seminar that his firm has been denied work permits to recruit about 30 engineers from outside the European Union.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He said, \u2018\u2018These days we have big difficulties with work permits. Every year the government changes the policy and it is a big headache for us.\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Jibiki added that if the problems persist \u2018\u2018there is a possibility of transferring our regional headquarters from the UK to continental Europe. We are thinking about such contingency plans.\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And speaking at the same event, Stephen Gomersall, the European chief executive of Hitachi Ltd said, \u2018\u2018There\u2019s a danger that immigration legislation which is justified on totally different grounds can have operational consequences for sophisticated Japanese manufacturers.\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The British Parliament\u2019s Home Affairs Committee has studied the idea of a cap and taken evidence from Professor David Metcalf, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, the government\u2019s independent adviser on migration issues.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

He told members about an encounter with Japanese executives \u2018\u2018hostile\u2019\u2019 to the cap. They told him, \u2018\u2018We provide huge foreign direct investments into the UK. Are you saying that it may be difficult for us to get our people in?\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The committee has warned that if the cap is set too high it could have a negative effect on business. Members recommend ICTs to Britain for under two years should be exempted.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The government says that it is listening to the concerns of the business community and recognizes the need to administer the cap flexibly.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some analysts have speculated that the government could exempt certain sectors from the cap.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Firms are currently allowed to recruit skilled workers from outside the European Union if they are unable to fill posts with the local population or the job is on a list of \u2018\u2018shortage occupations.\u2019\u2018<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Due to concern over immigration levels, Britain has already curbed the number of unskilled workers accepted into the country and placed tougher restrictions on student visas.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

ends<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s another entry for the “shoe on the other foot” department — how Japan businesses squeal “foul!” when they face visa restrictions on their Japanese hires within Britain, and threaten sanctions and pullouts. Imagine if a foreign government were to try to do that to Japan for its visa programs, which are technically designed to give backdoor preferential treatment to unskilled workers? I’m pretty sure people would comment that the GOJ has the right to regulate its borders as it sees fit. Never mind comity, I guess.<\/p>\n

Japan Times: “The JCCI has communicated to U.K. ministers and officials in September its strong concerns about the introduction of further limits on non-EU immigration and the possible impact on the existing operations and future investment of Japanese companies in the U.K.,” said Patrick Macartney, manager at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry…<\/p>\n

Katsuji Jibiki, a human-resources manager at Mitsubishi Electric Europe, revealed at a recent business seminar that his firm has been denied work permits to recruit about 30 engineers from outside the European Union.<\/p>\n

He said, “These days we have big difficulties with work permits. Every year the government changes the policy and it is a big headache for us.”<\/p>\n

Jibiki added that if the problems persist “there is a possibility of transferring our regional headquarters from the U.K. to continental Europe. We are thinking about such contingency plans.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,50,16,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bad-business-practices","category-gaiatsu","category-labor-issues","category-shoe-on-the-other-foot-dept"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}