Blogs and Articles from Thrid Way Forum Memebrs

Coexistence Between Japanese and Non-Japanese Workers

Blogs from Ms. Ayu Sakai

What changes do you think will happen in Japan, after the 2020 Olympics are held this summer? I am interested in the interaction across borders, so I started to investigate the problems between Japanese and non-Japanese living in Japan. What came up repeatedly as I investigated was about employment of non-Japanese workers. Now in Japan, the number of non-Japanese workers is increasing year by year because of a declining birthrate and aging population, and with a rapid decline of the working population, the shortage of human resources is becoming serious. Because of this, non-Japanese workers are expected to play an active role. However, there are various problems such as difficulty of continuing employment among non-Japanese workers. From this, various misunderstandings between non-Japanese workers and Japanese companies are happening. I wanted to ask about the problems in detail directly, so I went to Employment Service Center for Foreigners.

At the Service Center, I heard that non-Japanese workers who work in Japanese companies have many worries while working there. For example, they don’t know what Japanese are thinking. The reason is that culturally there is a disconnect between what Japanese people really feel and what they are supposed to say. Also, they can’t understand why Japanese workers put work before family, and they don’t know the cause of being　bullied or getting fired. One example of getting fired is that non-Japanese workers were absent a few times because for them the sickness of their child or a visit to the dentist precedes their job. Japanese people think their job is more important, so it may be causes of that. Finally, they have a problem because Japanese people’s attitude about time is different from their country. In Japan, it is very important to be punctual. If you are told to gather at 9:00, what time would you gather? What time do you think Japanese people will gather? Most Japanese people gather five or ten minutes earlier than 9:00 so as not to be late. These tacit rules and business manners are the some of the causes of being bullied and getting fired. From these, I consider that most of the worries which non-Japanese have are due to the differences in values and working styles between Japanese and non-Japanese.

Also, I asked what things are necessary to live together. I learned that we should create equal relationships using “Easy Japanese” that can be understood by everyone by adding pronunciation of kanji and using easy idioms. We should make sure non-Japanese workers are in a higher position in the office so that they can make decisions. Therefore, their values are appreciated, and they can accept differences in values, cultures, and languages. Also, I heard that accepting differences in values, cultures, and languages is important. We should provide classes about Japanese language or manners so that non-Japanese can improve their knowledge of Japan so as to work in harmony. Finally, speaking in a third language is one way to improve relationships. For example, if Japanese person and French person discuss something, it is advantageous for Japanese when they speak Japanese, while speaking French is advantageous for French. To solve this problem, it is good to speak in English, not Japanese or French. From these things, I made a hypothesis that if I create something that promotes our awareness of non-Japanese workers’ worries, they will feel more comfortable working in Japan.

Based on this hypothesis, I created a handbook that tells the differences in values between Japanese and non-Japanese workers and put handbooks in the company for about a month. In the handbook, I wrote about “The Current Situation of Foreign Workers in Japanese Companies”, “Business Manners in Japan”, “Class Introduction of Japanese Manners”, and “Easy Japanese”. In “Business Manners in Japan”, I introduced phone manners, the manners of seating, meeting manners, manners for exchanging business cards and so on. Also, to investigate the effects of my handbook on non-Japanese workers working there, I made a survey about the handbook and asked if it was useful for working with Japanese workers. Look at this graph. 18% of them answered it was very useful, 29％ answered it had quite a lot effects, 35％ answered it was a little useful, and 18% answered it had no effect. From these results, I found that my handbook was useful, but not so much. I considered that the reason for this is because most of non-Japanese working at the company, where I put my handbook, have lived in Japan a long time, so they can already speak Japanese fluently and they know the business manners. To make it more useful, I think I need to write the significant reasons behind the manners so that they can understand them much better. I want to revise the handbook and give non-Japanese who have just arrived in Japan for future research.

From my study, I learned that non-Japanese workers who have just arrived in Japan are worried about differences in values and Japanese unique tacit rules. I think it is true for all non-Japanese in Japan, not only for workers. I predict that in the future more non-Japanese workers will be invited, so I think it is a good opportunity for Japan to be more international now that the Olympics are approaching. I hope that this study will help non-Japanese live more comfortably.


Jpn Versionお助け本 日本人労働者_ver.

CoexistencebtwJpn&Non お助け本_外国人労働者_ver.