日本計劃放松面向技術勞工的簽證規(guī)定

Japan plans a review of visa rules by the summer as it seeks more skilled foreign workers to overcome increasingly severe labour shortages.

日本計劃不晚于今年夏天完成對其簽證規(guī)定的重新評估。目前，日本正尋求引入更多的外籍技術勞工，以克服該國日益嚴重的勞動力短缺問題。

The government says it will consider an expansion of visa categories and easing of rules. The main target is technology professionals but it will also look at sectors with severe labour shortages such as care, construction, transport and agriculture.

日本政府表示，它將考慮擴大簽證類別和放松簽證規(guī)定。其主要目標是技術專業(yè)人士，但也將著眼于勞動力嚴重短缺的行業(yè)，如護理、建筑、運輸和農(nóng)業(yè)。

The review shows how ageing Japan’s urgent need for workers is forcing it to rethink longstanding taboos. However, Shinzo Abe, prime minister, is determined to allow only guest workers, not permanent immigrants.

此次重新評估顯示出，日益老齡化的日本對勞工的迫切需求正如何迫使其重新思考長期以來的禁忌。不過，日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)決心只接受外籍勞工，而不是永久移民。

That will limit the potential economic impact and raises questions about Japan’s desirability as a destination for the highly skilled. “My government has no intention of adopting a so-called immigration policy. We are sticking to that point,” Mr Abe said as he launched the review.

這將會限制此舉的潛在經(jīng)濟效果，并讓人對日本作為高技能人才最終落腳地的吸引力產(chǎn)生懷疑。“我的政府無意采取所謂的移民政策。我們將堅持這一點，”安倍在啟動此次重新評估時表示。

“The preconditions are an upper limit on the duration of a stay and a basic refusal to let family members accompany a worker. With that, we want to come up with concrete proposals for reform by this summer, focusing on the sectors with greatest need.”

“其前提是，對停留期設置一個上限，并從根本上拒絕允許勞工的家庭成員隨其來日。在此基礎上，我們希望不晚于今年夏天提出具體的改革建議，重點關注需求最大的行業(yè)。”

The number of foreign workers in Japan has surged during the past five years as a strong economic recovery boosts demand for labour and an ageing native workforce reduces supply. Japan’s unemployment rate is down to 2.8 per cent and the ratio of open jobs to applicant is 1.59, the highest since the early 1970s.

過去5年里，由于強勁的經(jīng)濟復蘇提振了對勞動力的需求，以及日益老齡化的人口導致本土勞動力供應減少，日本的外籍勞工數(shù)量大幅增加。目前，日本的失業(yè)率降至2.8%，而空缺崗位與求職人數(shù)之比為1.59，為1970年代初以來的最高水平。

There were 682,450 foreign workers in Japan in 2012, the year Mr Abe was elected to his second stint as prime minister, according to the justice ministry. By 2017 the number had almost doubled to 1,278,670. About a fifth of the expansion in Japan’s labour force under Mr Abe is foreign workers.

根據(jù)日本法務省的數(shù)據(jù)，在安倍第二次當選首相的2012年，日本有68.245萬名外籍勞工。到2017年，這個數(shù)字幾乎翻了一番，達到127.867萬名。安倍任內(nèi)日本的新增勞動力當中，約有五分之一是外籍勞工。

However, more than half of the growth in numbers came from loopholes in the visa system, notably students working part-time and so-called “technical interns”, who are theoretically in Japan for training but more often doing low-skilled factory work.

但這部分當中有一半以上源自日本簽證制度的漏洞，特別是兼職的學生和所謂的“研修生”。“研修生”理論上是在日本接受培訓，但更多的時候是在從事低技能的工廠工作。

Neither category provides a stable source of labour for shortage sectors such as construction and nursing homes. Business groups, under growing pressure to raise wages to attract native workers, have been lobbying the Abe government to offer more work visas.

這兩個類別都沒有為建筑和養(yǎng)老院等短缺行業(yè)提供穩(wěn)定的勞動力來源。在通過加薪吸引本土勞工的壓力日益增大之際，各企業(yè)集團一直在游說安倍政府發(fā)放更多的工作簽證。

“Basically we are looking at revising the system for specialist and skilled workers,” said Toshimitsu Motegi, minister of state for economic and fiscal policy. He said that would include looking sector-by-sector at the minimum necessary skill levels.

“從根本上講，我們正在考慮修訂面向專家和技術勞工的簽證制度，”日本經(jīng)濟再生擔當大臣茂木敏充(Toshimitsu Motegi)說。他表示，這將包括逐個考察各行各業(yè)所需的最低技能水平。

Japan has struggled to attract highly skilled foreign workers given steep barriers of language and culture as well as a difficult path to permanent residency or citizenship. Only 5,494 workers have arrived under a points scheme aimed at scientists and business executives since it began in 2015.

由于巨大的語言和文化障礙，以及很難獲得永久居民或公民身份，日本一直難以吸引到高技能外籍勞工。一項面向科學家和企業(yè)高管的計分計劃自2015年啟動以來只吸引來了5494名勞工。

In a sign of the political sensitivity around immigration, Mr Abe has entrusted the review to Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary, and Yoko Kamikawa, justice minister, rather than economic ministers who are more likely to favour liberalisation.

安倍已將重新評估工作委托給了內(nèi)閣官房長官菅義偉(Yoshihide Suga)和法務大臣上川陽子(Yoko Kamikawa)，而不是更有可能支持放松管制的幾位主管經(jīng)濟的大臣，這反映出移民問題在政治方面的敏感性。

Opinion polls show the Japanese public is at best evenly split on immigration when the question is framed as a measure to tackle population decline but opposed to large-scale arrivals or refugees. Younger Japanese are more likely to support immigration but older generations, who turn out most reliably in elections, oppose it.

民意調查顯示，當移民問題被建構為解決人口萎縮的一項措施時，日本民眾對移民的態(tài)度充其量是贊同與反對相當，不過，他們對大規(guī)模接收移民或難民表示反對。年輕的日本人支持移民的概率更大一些，而在選舉中最可信賴的老一輩日本選民反對移民。