December 2018 Monthly Labor Union

December 2018 Monthly Labor Union, pp. 56-57
Problems with accepting foreign workers
Mayumi Yoshida

Legalize undocumented immigrants before accepting new ones.

With the recent revision of the Immigration Control Act, many media outlets and experts are discussing the problems associated with accepting new foreign workers.
However, before accepting new immigrants, shouldn't we legalize the undocumented immigrants who have been supporting the Japanese economy until now?

It may be true that undocumented immigrants have violated immigration laws.
But wouldn't it be too cruel to deport them now for this one mistake?
In the legal world, there's a concept called the "principle of proportionality," which states that the punishment should be proportional to the crime committed.
As mentioned earlier, if they are forcibly deported, some non-regular workers will find it difficult to make a living.
Children are deprived of their dreams for the future.

Deporting them would violate immigration laws that were enacted 10 or 20 years ago,
After that, I integrated into Japanese society and lived an honest life.
They speak Japanese and are familiar with the Japanese work environment. Shouldn't they be legalized?
In Europe and the US, when immigration laws are revised, existing undocumented immigrants are subject to certain conditions.
It is common practice to grant amnesty (mass pardon) and legalize such acts. Japan should also do the same in conjunction with this revision.
Regarding undocumented immigrants who are being kept in Japanese workplaces due to Japan's convenience and are now unable to return to their home country,
The treatment of foreign workers by the Japanese government will be a crucial test of the government's awareness of human rights in the new acceptance of foreign workers.
To stubbornly insist on their return home now demonstrates that the government will continue to implement policies that treat foreign workers as if they were not human.

Japan has made a major shift in its policies towards accepting foreign workers.
The government says it's not an immigration policy, but it's certainly a major shift.
Including how to deal with undocumented immigrants, we need to raise awareness of human rights regarding foreign workers.
Raising Japan's standards to meet global standards is an urgent task that the Japanese government must undertake.