The number of foreign workers in Japan is increasing, accounted more than 2 million foreign workers. Indonesia becomes the greatest country whose 42 thousand citizens work in Japan. Most of them are international students or alumni from a Japanese educational institution.

In a public lecture on ‘Foreign Workers in Japan’ conducted by Department of International Relations of UMY on Thursday (1/3) at Auditorium of Building of K.H. Ibrahim of UMY, Associate Professor of Tsukuba Gakuin University, Japan Kanakubo Noriko stated that Japan will confront a shortage of labors due to lack of productive age citizens. “In 2010, 25 percent of Japanese people are at the age above 65, while population at the productive age of 15-65 is 80 million people, and the number is going to reduce 45 percent in 2060 if it is not anticipated,” he emphasized.

Noriko told that the foreign worker recruitment is one of the government policy to overcome the issue. “The immediate impact of the population reduction is on the decreasing of birth rates, and this problem has been predicted. Thus, to encounter it, Japanese government made a policy to ease foreigners to work in Japan. Government also provides internship programs for international students, and accepts graduates from a Japanese educational institution to be professionals. Because of the policy in 2016, 80 percent of international students worked in Japan,” he mentioned.

An international relations lecturer of UMY Dian Azmawati, S.IP., M.A. informed that the visit of Tsubuka Gakuin University is a mean of broadening a partnership begun in 2016. “In 2017, we have collaborated with two lecturers of Tsubuka Gakuin Universty and five papers written by our lecturers will be published this year. We would like to enhance our cooperation with Department of Business & Informatics Extension Program for International Language & Culture of Tsakuba Gakuin University through joint research and a student exchange program,” she said.