Vietnamese workers are the most numerous in Japan, Japanese employers are raising wages

A Vietnamese worker in Japan - Photo: SHUGO TAMURA

Nikkei Asia reported on March 15 that the situation of foreign labor in Japan has changed a lot due to fluctuations in wages and exchange rates.

Of which, Vietnamese workers in 2023 surpassed China to become the largest group of foreign workers in Japan, while the group of workers from Indonesia has tripled since 2018.

According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Health , Labor and Welfare, the total number of foreign workers in the country has increased by 40.3% over the past five years, reaching 2.05 million as of October 2023.

The growth rate of foreign labor was recorded to slow down when the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide in 2020. But this figure increased by 12.4% from 2022 - 2023 when the pandemic situation gradually subsided.

Accordingly, Vietnamese workers account for the largest proportion of the total number of foreign workers in Japan. This force increased by 63.6% within 5 years and reached 518,364 people.

Many of these Vietnamese workers are part of a technical intern training program designed to help transfer technical work skills to developing countries.

Meanwhile, the number of Chinese workers increased by only 2.3% as domestic wages rose, and a weak yen reduced the appeal of working in Japan.

Vietnam’s labor force is also growing slowly as wages in the country rise. This group is expected to grow by 12.1% in 2022 and 2023, roughly in line with overall growth.

In response, Japanese employers are now offering higher wages to attract workers.

Accordingly, the basic monthly salary for foreign technical interns (about half of whom come from Vietnam) will increase by 8% in 2022, reaching 177,800 yen (or 1,200 USD, nearly 30 million VND).

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lao-dong-viet-nam-dong-nhat-o-nhat-ban-nha-tuyen-dung-nhat-dang-tang-luong-20240315161452837.htm