The Living Environment Foreign Workers Need in Japan

Support for foreign workers under Specified Skilled Worker (i) is provided by the accepting organization or a Registered Support Organization in line with the items below.
・Provision of pre-entry lifestyle guidance required by the sending organization
・Airport pickup and send-off upon entry and return
・Provision of guarantor services; securing housing
・Lifestyle orientation upon entry (opening a savings account / mobile phone contract)
・Japanese language learning for daily life
・Response to consultations and complaints
・Information provision on various administrative procedures
・Promotion of exchange between foreign nationals and Japanese people
・Support when a foreign national’s Specified Skilled Worker employment contract is terminated

The Environment Foreign Workers Need

We have summarized key points on the concerns that arise when foreign workers live and work in Japan, the information they want, and how to create a supportive environment, based on the voices of current foreign workers and those with experience.

Mental Health Measures for Foreign Workers

Many foreign workers often feel a sense of loneliness in the workplace, and mental health measures are a key to promoting corporate globalization.
In-house consultations and interviews, colleagues or counselors who can respond in their native language, and enhanced means of communication help ease foreign workers’ sense of isolation and lead to greater labor productivity.

Consideration for Balance Between Life in a Different Culture and Working Hours

Before they are workers, foreign workers are residents living in Japan.
Life in the different culture of Japan takes time for foreign nationals from each country to become habitual. Consideration for the balance between unfamiliar daily life and working hours is a top-priority issue for employing companies.
To adapt Japanese corporate culture and high production quotas, it is desirable to proceed step by step through a mutual decision-making process.

The Food Environment Matters

Some foreign nationals successfully gather the information they need through interaction with people from their home country, but consideration should be given to those who lack information, and Japanese mentors who can share the information foreign workers need are essential. For example, caring about whether foreign workers are satisfied with the meals they eat every day may seem like a small thing, but it is one form of support that also connects to labor productivity. There are also comments from foreign workers who say they were saved by a supervisor at their workplace who became like a mother figure.