Japan's labor shortaage

Japan has one of the world’s most rapidly aging populations and lowest birthrates, Japan is facing acute labor shortages in farming towns, fishing villages, factories, restaurants and nursing homes, and on construction sites. The farming community of about 4,400 Japanese residents has about 615 Chinese living there temporarily. Five years ago, Japan’s aging farmers started hiring seasonal workers from China for seven-month contracts. Closed to immigration, Japan has admitted foreign workers through various loopholes, including employing growing numbers of foreign students as part-timers and temporary workers. With Japan’s population on a steep decline over the next decades, failing to secure a steady work force could harm the nation’s long-term economic competitiveness. The large presence of the Chinese workers is unsettling for some Japanese even though they have become more dependent on these workers. The Japanese people still cannot seem to welcome the idea of immigrants in farming communities or elsewhere in Japan.