FOOD OUTLETS WARN GOV’T: WE’LL SHUT DOWN IF FOREIGN STUDENTS LEAVE

Masaki Kitashiba, 48, president of bento lunchbox shop Hidamari in western Japan city of Kobe's Hyogo Ward, has warned that his food outlet would shut down “if it weren't for the foreign students, who work part time. They're a great help," he told Mainichi Shimbun. 

The bento shop has been employing foreign students for around 10 years, starting with an application from a Myanmar student who asked if they could work from the early morning before class. Some 30 foreign students have worked at the shop over the years through this connection. Kitashiba remarked, "Regular part-time employees can only come at around 9 a.m. Foreign students are always on time, and do their jobs diligently. I'd like them to keep working with us for a long time." 

In 2008, the Japanese government put forward a plan to bring 300,000 foreign students to the country as part of a "global strategy" initiative, and sought to attract "exceptional" students to Japan by 2020. According to the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), the number of foreign students in Japan rose from 120,000 in academic 2008 to 310,000 in academic 2019. Toru Inoue, a sociolinguistics professor and research fellow at Tokyo's Hitotsubashi University, called the government policy "a system to bring in large numbers of immigrant workers under the name of foreign students." 

The number of foreign students who also worked part-time jobs reached 318,278 as of the end of October 2019, accounting for 19% of all foreign workers in Japan, according to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare figures. In addition, research by JASSO found that 75% of all foreigners studying in Japan in 2017 had been working part-time jobs. Many of them reportedly work at convenience stores and eateries. By cracking down on these part-time workers or being strict with them in their schools, business owners claim government will be kicking out their dedicated employees.