Japan enacts controversial law to accept foreign workers
Tokyo, Dec 8 : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition early Saturday rammed through legislation to bring more blue-collar foreign workers into the country, in a controversial move to address chronic labour shortages.
The bill was enacted after the upper house gave approval despite a raft of criticism by opposition parties following its passage through the lower house in late November.
Both chambers are controlled by Abe's ruling camp. Under the new system, the government plans to bring in as many as 345,000 foreign workers in construction, food services, nursing and other designated sectors for five years.
"We aim at starting it in April next year because we need to swiftly launch the new system in order to deal with the current labour shortage," Abe told parliament on Thursday.
But opposition parties claimed that the law fails to address the potential impact on Japanese society of new foreign labour, and does not protect foreign workers' rights.
In a bid to block its passage, opposition parties submitted censure motions against Abe and Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, but they were easily rejected by the ruling bloc.
The law allows foreign nationals with skills in sectors facing particularly severe shortages to obtain five-year visas, which would not allow them to bring their families.
Foreign workers in those fields who hold stronger qualifications and pass a more difficult Japanese language test will be able to obtain a visa that can be extended indefinitely, eventually leading to residency, and will be able to bring over family.
But there have been questions about whether an influx of foreign workers will depress wages, how the workers will be incorporated into Japan's social security system, and worries about exploitation of migrant labour. Many of Japan's low-skilled foreign workers are in the country under a so-called "technical training" programme, which has repeatedly faced allegations of abuse.
"We should not create a new system hastily without reviewing the technical training programme in which problems are mounting," Yoshifu Arita, an opposition lawmaker, told parliament.
Businesses have long lobbied for looser immigration rules, saying they struggle to find workers in a country where unemployment hovers around 2.5 per cent. The chronic labour shortages are only worsening as Japan's ageing and shrinking population means a declining pool of workers.
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Russia always ready to supply crude oil to India: Envoy
New Delhi (PTI): Russia has always been open to supplying crude oil to India, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Thursday, amid increasing concerns over spiralling prices of petroleum products in view of the West Asia crisis.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
India imports 88 per cent of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. These mostly come via the Strait of Hormuz.
Any prolonged instability in West Asia is set to be detrimental to India's national interests as the region remains a major source of New Delhi's energy security.
"We have been open to supplying crude oil to India," Alipov told reporters while responding to a question on Russian crude oil supplies to India in view of the West Asia crisis.
The US launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In the last three days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both the sides.
India's procurement of crude oil from Russia has seen sharp fall in the last few weeks.
US President Donald Trump, while announcing a trade deal with New Delhi last month, claimed India has agree to not procure crude oil from Russia.
In an executive order, Trump had rolled back an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India that he imposed in August last for India's procurement of crude oil from Russia.
In the order, the US said it would monitor whether India resumed Russian oil purchases directly or indirectly and that would determine whether a 25 per cent tariff would again be re-impose.
India has been maintaining that it will procure oil from multiple sources and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement.
