In 1990s, Japan was an economy that faced both demographic and economic challenges.[1] As a response to labour shortages, Japanese government conceived an internship program for migrant workers called the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) in 1993.[2] While Japan arguably no longer retains its absolute competitive advantages in electronic parts and components and Japanese local manufacturers moved upstream in the supply chains,[3] right before the pandemic started in 2020, the TITP still attracts large numbers of migrant workers to work in sectors that experience labour shortages.[4]

TITP program is a five-year internship programme at a single Japanese company without possibility of switching to another employer.[5] The program is divided into three sections with each section corresponding to the projected skills acquired.[6] The first section comprises of both lectures and practical trainings while the rest two comprise only of practical training. [7] To pass through each section, interns are required to pass written and practical tests.[8] As interns progress through the three sections, they are expected to acquire more knowledge and practical skills.[9] Once they have completed all the three sections, they are expected to transfer the knowledge to their co-workers in their countries of origins.[10]

The TITP is described by some as an unjust scheme since interns are subject to long work hours, impossibility to switch employer, poor enforcement against abusive employers, lack of transfer of knowledge, lack of opportunity to move up the corporate ladder, and high recruitment costs.[11] The critics of the TITP call for it to be replaced with a scheme that provides better guarantees for workers’ rights and gives them the recognition they deserve.[12]

In response to such criticism, the Government of Japan released an interim report in April 2023 which signals a shift towards a new regulatory system for migrant workers and the abolishing of the existing TITP.[13] The subsequent proposal released in September 2023 following the report suggests opening opportunities for admitted migrant workers for long term or permanent employment in Japan and greater flexibility to replace the existing TITP regime.[14]

The paradigm shift on TITP may have been a part of the larger move toward recognizing importance of human rights in business. In September 2022, the Japanese government released the Guidelines on Respecting Human Rights in Responsible Supply Chains.[15] There is much hope that there will be increased awareness and steady improvements in the identification and management of human rights risks related to business activities of Japanese companies.

Sources:

[1] https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/2003/japan/index.htm

[2] https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76067709.pdf

[3] https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/why-japan-lost-its-comparative-advantage-producing-electronic-parts-and-components

[4] https://gsp.cgdev.org/legalpathway/technical-intern-training-program-titp/

[5] https://www.jitco.or.jp/en/regulation/

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.