

* * * * * * * * TERRIE'S TAKE - BY TERRIE LLOYD * * * * * *

A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd, a long-term

technology and media entrepreneur living in Japan.

(http://www.terrielloyd.com)

General Edition Sunday, August 30, 2015, Issue No. 817

- What's New -- Guest Worker Program About to Start

- News -- El Nino means wetter, milder weather

- Upcoming Events

- Corrections/Feedback

- Travel Picks -- Jofukuji temple in Fukui, Sapporo Tower in Hokkaido

- News Credits

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+++ WHAT'S NEW

It looks like special foreign nanny visas are about to become law. Not

those few foreign nanny visas which can already be requested by a very

small number of qualified expats, but new ones for many thousands of

nannies who can be hired by regular Japanese working women.

We reported last June (2014) that PM Abe's Council on Economic and

Fiscal Policy predicted that at least 2.2m Japanese women would return

to work if they had caretakers for their kids or elderly parents. The

problem for Japan is that there are not enough Japanese nationals

available to work as nannies at the hourly rates that ordinary

"returning-to-work" women could actually afford, so the government has

decided that it will create a new visa category to fill the gap.

To prevent an unstoppable flood of foreign immigrants, the new visas

appear to come with restrictions that we presume are designed to prevent

"leakage" of the nannies over into the regular workforce. Firstly, it

seems that the visas will only be good for 3 years, after which, if the

nannies haven't managed to marry a Japanese citizen or prove they have

the skills to move to a regular work visa, we suppose that they will be

required to return home. Secondly, the employment will be through

licenced worker dispatch companies, who will then contract the nannies

out to the households. Thirdly, the scheme is limited to just Osaka and

Kanagawa.

There appear to be at least three temporary staffing companies involved

in the first tranche of several hundred hires: Osaka-based housekeeping

firm Duskin, a Tokyo housekeeping firm named Bears, and Pasona Lifecare.

It is not surprising to learn that all three will be recruiting in the

Philippines, although apparently Duskin is also going to try to tap

applicants in Japan as well.

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[...Article continues]

The reason why this new visa class is of interest to us is that it marks

the first time that Japan has come clean about guest-worker visas and

isn't trying to hide this disadvantaged section of the population. In

the past, foreign workers were either smoke-screened as "trainees", a

sneaky system that has become discredited after several overwork deaths

and murders, or they have had sufficient training and skills to come in

under a regular teaching or engineering work visa and therefore could

switch jobs as guaranteed by the Japanese constitution and maintain

residence for as long as they had a job.

These new visas look like they are going to function like a proper guest

worker visa, which means the person gets to stay 3 years then they are

expected to return home again. Although we question the ethics of such

visas, many other countries needing foreign unskilled labor have similar

arrangements. If this program is successful, we expect a dramatic

increase in the number of manual labor workers brought in under the

system, and for it to be extended to households in and around the

capital of Tokyo, not just Kanagawa-ken. This could be the start of a

new immigration wave into the country.

Does coming in on a guest worker visa mean more virtual slavery as it

has under the trainee program? Well, it is hard to say. The government

is saying that the companies employing the nannies will have to employ

them full-time and pay wages equal or higher than those received by

Japanese employees. We find that very hard to believe, otherwise,

there'd be a flood of local women who are currently stuck in

part-time/contract positions who'd be interested in filling these jobs.

Instead, we imagine that companies will be using some kind of

work-around to justify rock-bottom salaries.

For example, they could employ just one Japanese who is severely

disadvantaged already, to set a low local salary rate, and keep paying

their newly arrived foreign staff at that level. Or maybe they will

simply advertise jobs for JPY750 and after getting no takers locally

will claim that this is the going rate so they will pay their foreign

workers JPY800 to show that they are payment above market. Who knows?

Perhaps even more interesting than the scams will be the inevitable

legal challenges over the rights of the people holding this kind of

visa. Firstly there will likely be cases where a guest worker decides

that she/he wants to switch employers. Will she/he be allowed to do

that? Secondly, how will they be confined to work within the Osaka and

Kanagawa areas? What rights will they have to live or work in the next

city over? Surely this has the capacity to become a human rights

problem? Then, thirdly, the constitution guarantees everyone authorized

to work here the freedom to work where/when they wish, so what happens

if the government is challenged on a constitutional basis?

Anyway, we see this new visa and influx of nannies as a significant

thawing of Japan's immigration policy, and once Tokyo is allowed to join

the program, we will probably see thousands of new workers a month

coming to Japan. This could well kick off a major social change in

Japan's attitude to foreigners. For a start it will create new demand

for bed town accommodation and put money into the pockets of local

landlords. It will also allow more local Japanese women re-enter the

workforce and thus alleviate some of Japan's worker shortage. It will

put a lot more community-positive foreigners into direct contact with

local families, and this will hopefully contribute to a softening of

peoples' attitudes towards immigration in general. And finally, those

Japanese kids who wind up with Filipina nannies will have a natural

advantage in learning English.

We only hope that the nannies are treated better than foreign trainees

have been, so that the program gets a good reputation from all concerned.

...The information janitors/

***------------------------****-------------------------***

------- Bilingual Senior Software Developer Vacancy -------

MetroWorks KK, the creator of the ACQ structured crowdsourcing software

that powers www.japantravel.com, has a vacancy for a highly experienced

senior software developer for its Tokyo-based team. The successful

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use many other services (web, iOS/Android mobile, etc.) and platforms as

well, with various members of the team being experts on each.

Ideally the applicant will have a minimum 5 years experience in

developing web systems. Any nationality, as a visa can be supplied to

the qualified individual, however, English and Japanese capability is

desirable. Competitive salary with additional increases as capability

and team leadership skills are established. Great team, friendly

atmosphere, modern office in convenient location in Roppongi. Immediate

start, but we will wait for the right person.

Interested applicants please send your resume to info@metroworks.co.jp

or to info@japantravel.com.

-----------------------------------------------------------

***********************************************************

+++ NEWS

- Taiwan train cards to feature porn star

- Todai start-up activity heats up

- North Korean missile program is major concern

- Israeli training for cyber security

- El Nino means wetter, milder weather

=> Taiwan train cards to feature porn star

We had to laugh upon learning that a Taipei metro train pass production

company plans to feature a pre-paid card with a photo of Japanese porn

star Yui Hatano on it. The company is planning to release two versions

of the train pass: a "devil" edition with Hatano-san dressed in black,

and an "angel" version of her dressed in white. ***Ed: Sounds like the

Mayor of Taipei was quite upset when he heard about the cards. That

said, it looks like they will go on sale mid-September, as planned. The

profits will apparently go to charity.** (Source: TT commentary from

BBC.com, Aug 28, 2015)

http://bbc.in/1JEDRz8

=> Todai start-up activity heats up

The "Entrepreneur Plaza" start-up incubator being run by the University

of Tokyo (Todai) has come under the spotlight after Chinese search

engine company Baidu bought out a 6-year old online ad company operating

there. The company, popIn Inc., was funded with JPY40m from Todai's UTEC

fund in 2008 and was sold to Baidu for a sum said to be between JPY1-2bn

in June. The CEO of popIn, Tao Cheng, was a masters graduate from Todai.

Apparently the Todai incubator has more than 20 start-ups operating in

its facility. (Source: TT commentary from wsj.com, Aug 27, 2015)

http://on.wsj.com/1EqZsdU

=> North Korean missile program is major concern

It's no surprise that the Ministry of Defence's white paper for 2015

focuses on North Korea's ballistic missile program. The ministry is

concerned that the North Korean military command is becoming radicalized

after a purge of senior officers and the brutal execution of

Vice-Chairman Song-thaek. The paper also notes that since North Korea's

military capability falls far short of South Korea's (with or without

American presence there), this means North Korea is more likely to focus

on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to compensate. ***Ed: There is

also the fact that North Korea makes pretty handy revenue out of

supplying Iran and other nuclear hopefuls around the world, so this is

another reason for them to emphasize this this part of their military

capability.** (Source: thediplomat.com, Aug 28, 2015)

http://bit.ly/1Ju4DbU

=> Israeli training for cyber security

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed an agreement to supply Dai

Nippon Printing (DNP) employees with cyber security training. IAI is

well known for creating a sophisticated methodology for protecting

sensitive industries in Israel -- called TAME Range. The methodology

includes a boot camp, dummy networks to practice on, and scenarios to

learn from. ***Ed: According to the article, there are 80,000 unfilled

cybersecurity job positions in Japan. It sounds like the security sector

in Japan is chronically under served, and should be a great opportunity

for others wanting to follow IAI's example.** (Source: TT commentary

from timesofisrael.com, Aug 28, 2015)

http://bit.ly/1Uf4n8X

=> El Nino means wetter, milder weather

While the rest of the world is dealing with weather extremes -- and so

were we up until a week ago -- the El Nino weather pattern has now

arrived, and the Japan Met Agency's prediction for the next three months

is that it will be warmer as we go into the fall (but without the

extreme heat we had in July), and wetter. El Nino means that it will be

drier in the southern hemisphere, and thus Japan is the main beneficiary

of this weather pattern. It does mean, though, that snow falls in Honshu

may be later and lighter than in normal years. (Source: TT commentary

from reuters.com, Aug 25, 2015)

http://reut.rs/1fP6iy8

NOTE: Broken links

Some online news sources remove their articles after just a few days of

posting them, thus breaking our links -- we apologize for the inconvenience.

***------------------------****-------------------------***

-------------- Have a Tour to Promote? --------------------

Japan Travel is recruiting tour operators who would like to list their

inventory on our new Tours Marketplace (http://bit.ly/1IsujUw). Listing

is free, and only successful bookings will attract a marketing fee. Take

advantage of our position as Japan's largest independent inbound travel

website (714,000 unique users in March, 2015) and give your tours the

exposure you need to develop your business. We are particularly

interested in tours that include a unique aspect of Japan and where your

marketing collateral includes strong photography and/or videos,

evocative descriptions, and strong appeal. After June 1st, all new tours

MUST include at least a one-night stay or formal (not public) ground

transport.

Operators and agents wishing to apply, contact info@japantravel.com

-----------------------------------------------------------

+++ UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

No announcements this week.

+++ CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK

No feedback this week.

***------------------------****-------------------------***

+++ TRAVEL DESTINATIONS PICKS

=> Tale of Echizen Jofukuji Temple

Taira Clan's survival in Genji-ruled Japan

In late March this year, when the footsteps of spring finally began to

be heard in the snow country Fukui, I visited Ajimano-en Park to see

plum blossoms. However, to my dismay when I arrived I found no plum

blossoms blooming there. Disappointed, I looked around to see if there

was something else I could enjoy, but there was nothing except for the

endless patches of rice fields stretching ahead of me. Still, I couldn't

give up. It took me an hour by car to get here. I couldn't go home until

I saw something, anything, could I?

I continued to drive around through rice paddies in my pursuit of

'something to see', and eventually stumbled across an old temple. On the

stone marker at the entrance was written, 'Jofuku-ji Temple', beside

which the impressive words 'Jofuku-ji Garden: National Site of Scenic

Beauty' were added. That's when I remembered that someone once told me

there was a famous garden in Echizen City, and I thought this must be

it. However, I couldn't see anyone else at this 'National Site of Scenic

Beauty' on a supposedly busy weekend, so I was somewhat skeptical, but

on the other hand, this happens a lot in Fukui so I decided to go inside

anyway.

As I walked along the pathway and reached the temple entrance, a stone

marker came into sight. It read, 'A family temple of the Taira Clan'. I

wondered, 'Why in the world is there a family temple of the Taira Clan

out here?' Later, my question was answered by an old man in the temple

who told me a long story about the Taira Clan (I banged at the door of

the temple to let me see the garden tucked away behind it).

http://bit.ly/1hqdqCe

=> 360° view of Sapporo

90 meters above the ground from Sapporo TV Tower

If Tokyo has Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree then Sapporo has Sapporo TV

Tower. Even if it's not as high as those two towers in Tokyo, it's

pretty amazing to see Sapporo from that height and you do get a

beautiful and uninterrupted 360° view of the city.

It's already been 58 years since the 147.2 meter Sapporo TV Tower was

completed in August 1957. Located on the eastern edge of Odori Park, it

has been a Sapporo landmark and has seen development of the city for

more than half a century. From the observation deck, which is

approximately 90 meters above the ground, visitors can enjoy the

panoramic views. Odori Park which is a beautiful park that has flowers

blooming from season to season and hosts various international events

for citizens and tourists throughout the year. Visitors on the

observation deck can enjoy a view of the entire city as far as the Sea

of Japan, the magnificent Ishikari Plain in the background, and the

Okura and Maruyama mountains.

Digital clocks were installed at the height of 65 meters from the

ground. This installation was suggested by the founder of the company

Konosuke Matsushita, who thought these digital clocks would draw more

attention to the structure.

http://bit.ly/1Jv4l4H

***------------------------****-------------------------***

***********************************************************

END

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+++ ABOUT US

STAFF

Written by: Terrie Lloyd (terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com)

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