Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam (Photo: VNA) Tokyo (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu HongNam talks to Vietnam News Agency about Japan’s visa policy for Vietnamese guestworkers.
What are the benefits that Vietnamese guestworkers will enjoy from Japan’s new policy on visas for Vietnamese guestworkers?
The Vietnamese labour force is young andenergetic. At present we have about 580,000 Vietnamese guest workers working in40 countries and territories with official contracts.
In addition, we also have 150,000 Vietnamesepeople working in Japan under agreements signed between the two Governments oragencies. Their average wage is about 24 million VND per month (1,100 USD). Inaddition, we have 80,000 students who are now studying the Japanese languagethere. Each student is allowed to work 28 hours/week with an average wage of6.5 USD per hour.
In my opinion, the new visa policy will offer better wages for Vietnamesepeople working or studying in Japan, plus better working conditions. It isprojected that in the next five years, Japan will receive up to 345,500Vietnamese guest workers who will work in 14 different professions.
This is a good opportunity for our workers to seek jobs requiring high labourskills with good salaries. This is also a good opportunity for the workersthemselves and their families in Vietnam.
For those with lower labour skills, the new policy will also offer them up to afive-year stay to work in Japan. Of course, the experiences they will gainwhile working and living in Japan will help them to find jobs with Japanesefirms when they return to Vietnam with higher salaries than their peers.
Last but not least, at present some 200,000 Vietnamese students and traineesare studying in Japan. This is set to become an elite Vietnamese labour forcefor Japan in the near future.
Will you please further elaborate on the two Japanese new types of labourskills?
In the past, most Vietnamese people went to Japan were under the title ofVietnamese guest workers or students. These people were allowed to work limitedhours per week. However, under the new visa system, they will enjoy morebenefits as follows:
For those who have a good command of the Japanese language or labour skillswill be able to sit exams. If they pass they will be granted a higher levelvisa. Those who have completed three-year work contracts or achieved a Japanesediploma at N4 level will not have to sit the exam.
People with high labour skills including engineers, senior technicians andregistered nurses can apply for permanent visas if they meet all therequirements.
The Vietnamese and Japanese governments will sign a labour agreement detailingall the requirements and procedures to recruit candidates for the abovementioned visas.
What are the opportunities and challenges that Vietnamese guest workers willface if they want to stay in Japan under these two types of visa?
First, let’s talk about the advantages. Vietnamese workers are intelligent andhard working. So with clear instructions and requirements, they will preparethemselves more carefully for the tests. On the other hand, I should say thatmany Vietnamese people have met the requirements for the Visa type 1.
Of course, Japan will review carefully visas for citizens from countries thathave many people illegally living and working there or people with criminalrecords.
Some industrial parks in Vietnam are facinglabour shortages. Do you think that sending more workers to Japan will havenegative impacts on the country?
No!I don’t think there are any negative impacts on the recruitment at Vietnameseindustrial parks. On the other hand, Japanese companies operating in Vietnamwill be the landing place for skilled Vietnamese workers returning home. Atpresent, Vietnam has an abundant labour force, but most of them are unskilledand not many want to work in industrial parks.
Vietnam has become a destination for many Japanese enterprises to invest in, sothe returning Vietnamese students and workers in the last decade have become animportant labour force for many Japanese enterprises. Some of them have heldhigh positions in Japanese enterprises.
Last but not least, it is an opportunity for Việt Nam to restructure our labourmarket abroad for the benefit of guest workers.-VNS/VNA
VNA
