Japan's Foreign Labor Rights Violations in the Context of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2018 3:30 PM
End Date
19-4-2018 4:45 PM
Keywords
foreign immigration, 2020 Olympics, Japan
Biography
Sarah Nix is a senior international affairs and Japanese language double-major from Huntington, West Virginia. Her research focuses on the refugees and immigration, primarily in East and Southeast Asia. She hopes to go to graduate school for a degree in public policy, with the goal of eventually serving overseas in the Foreign Service. In her free time, Sarah enjoys making friends with new international students on campus, drinking coffee, and listening to as much music as she can get her hands on.
Major
International Affairs & Japanese Langauge
Advisor for this project
Dr. Jamie Warner
Abstract
The increase in foreign labor immigration to Japan from the 1980s to today established the implementation of “foreign training programs.” These programs allowed foreign workers access into the country under “trainee” visa status with the intention of providing Japan with additional labor and the workers with valuable skills training they could bring back to their home countries. However, this process unfortunately also caused a spike in human rights violations against these same workers. This article examines this system and the human rights violations for both underlying ideological and practical causes, such a race and consistent poor supervision. It further suggests that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics be used as a catalyst for policy change, especially under the banner of international cooperation and multiculturalism that the games promote. By reevaluating the local and federal policy, the government of Japan will hopefully address the human rights concerns and provide more fully for their international residents.
Japan's Foreign Labor Rights Violations in the Context of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The increase in foreign labor immigration to Japan from the 1980s to today established the implementation of “foreign training programs.” These programs allowed foreign workers access into the country under “trainee” visa status with the intention of providing Japan with additional labor and the workers with valuable skills training they could bring back to their home countries. However, this process unfortunately also caused a spike in human rights violations against these same workers. This article examines this system and the human rights violations for both underlying ideological and practical causes, such a race and consistent poor supervision. It further suggests that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics be used as a catalyst for policy change, especially under the banner of international cooperation and multiculturalism that the games promote. By reevaluating the local and federal policy, the government of Japan will hopefully address the human rights concerns and provide more fully for their international residents.
