March 2019, Hiroba Union

March 2019, Hiroba Union, pp. 10-13
Series: People Who Stand Up - "Continuing to Support Foreign Residents"
Mayumi Yoshida

Overcoming hardships
- Foreign nationals who have been granted special permission to stay in Japan,
The number of cases has decreased significantly, from approximately 7,000 in 2011 to around 1,000 in 2017.
　　　
According to a survey by the Ministry of Justice, there are approximately 70,000 foreigners residing in Japan undocumented as of July 1, 2018.
On the other hand, 14,000 foreigners are deported annually (in 2017).
Given the number of people being deported, the fact that there are still 70,000 undocumented foreigners in Japan means that
This likely reflects the large number of foreigners in Japan who are working in precarious, non-regular employment.

- The government plans to expand the acceptance of foreign workers,
In the future, if technical trainees or international students run away or disappear,
Furthermore, it has been pointed out that the number of foreigners residing in Japan illegally may increase.

What APFS wants to say most right now is that before accepting new foreigners, we must first support the Japanese economy up to now.
What they want is for undocumented immigrants, who are already established in Japanese society, to be legalized.
Up until now, the Japanese government has viewed foreigners simply as a "convenient" source of labor.
During the bubble economy era, undocumented immigrants were tacitly accepted as a workforce for simple labor.
　　
Within that context, they established their lives and economic foundations in Japan and formed families.
The government's response of deporting them now suggests that they will continue to treat foreigners not as subjects of "coexistence,"
Doesn't this suggest treating them as a "convenient" source of labor?