December 2018 Labor Union Monthly

December 2018 Labor Union Monthly p56-57
Problems with accepting foreign workers
Mayumi Yoshida

Legalize Undocumented Immigrants Before Accepting New Residents

With the recent revision of the Immigration Control Act, many media outlets and experts are discussing the issues surrounding the acceptance of new foreign workers.
However, before accepting new immigrants, shouldn't we legalize the undocumented residents who have been propping up the Japanese economy up until now?

It may be true that irregular residents have violated immigration laws.
However, isn't it too cruel to deport them now because of this one mistake?
In the legal world, there is a concept called the "principle of proportionality," which states that the punishment should be proportionate to the crime committed.
As mentioned above, if they are deported, some non-regular workers will find it difficult to make a living.
Children's dreams for the future are being robbed.

Deporting them violated immigration laws more than 10 or 20 years ago,
Since then, he has integrated into Japanese society and lived an honest life.
They speak Japanese and are accustomed to the Japanese work environment. Surely they deserve to be legalized?
In Europe and the United States, when immigration laws are revised, existing undocumented residents are given conditional
It is common for them to be amnestied and legalized. Japan should also do the same in line with this revision.
For those who are being kept at work in Japan for the convenience of Japan and are now unable to return home,
How the Japanese government will treat them will be a litmus test of its awareness of human rights when it comes to accepting new foreign workers.
If they continue to insist on foreign workers returning to their home countries, it will show that they will continue to implement policies that treat foreign workers like no other.

Japan has made a major shift in its policy towards accepting foreign workers.
The government says this is not an immigration policy, but it certainly represents a major shift.
Raising awareness of the human rights of foreign workers, including those staying in Japan illegally
It is an urgent task for the Japanese government to raise the country up to global standards.