July 17 NEWSROOM TOKYO Bangkok Live
3. UNHCR: 150,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in last 18 months
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Japan to start new residency system for foreign workers
The government has adopted a basic policy to start a new residency qualification system for accepting human resources from overseas in April 2027, in a bid to secure foreign talent. In line with the move, the current technical intern training system will be abolished. The industry sectors to be covered by the new regime, called the "employment for skill development" system, will be unified with those under the specified skills system intended for highly skilled workers that was launched in 2019. The aim is to systematically develop foreign human resources and ensure they stay in Japanese workplaces for the long term. The government plans to promote a related ministerial ordinance before the end of this summer. The series of reforms reflects heightened international competition for talent. The technical intern training program, which began in 1993, was introduced for the purpose of making international contributions by accepting trainees from developing countries and giving them opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills while working. In reality, however, the system was often used by host companies as a means of securing cheap labor, coming under criticism as a hotbed of human rights abuses due to problems such as unpaid wages and long working hours. In the meantime, neighboring economies such as South Korea and Taiwan have expanded their acceptance of foreign workers, further intensifying competition for talent. Japan's relative economic attractiveness to foreign nationals has been declining, with its nominal per capita gross domestic product surpassed by South Korea in 2022. Japan, therefore, has urgently needed drastic system reform in order to become a country of choice for competent foreign human resources. Under the forthcoming employment for skill development system, foreign nationals accepted as unskilled laborers will be trained over three years to enhance their ability to the level of the specified skill Type 1 residency status, which authorizes holders to work in Japan for up to five years. Another key feature of the new system is that foreign workers will be allowed to change their place of employment if they meet certain conditions, including job transfers in the same industry sector, an arrangement aimed at creating a more comfortable working environment for them. Under the technical intern training system, trainees are prohibited from switching their workplaces in principle, a rule cited as one of the reasons for the disappearance of trainees unable to bear the working environment of their employers. Nevertheless, in order to curb excessive competition for labor among companies, there will be under the new system industry-specific periods of one to two years during which job transfers are not permitted. To be eligible to switch jobs, trainees will need to satisfy certain criteria in skills tests and Japanese language proficiency tests. The companies accepting such trainees will be limited to blue-chip companies that meet certain standards. The new system will pay particular attention to acute labor shortages in rural areas. The maximum number of foreign nationals that companies can accept for training and employment will be determined according to the number of their full-time employees. Select companies in rural areas, however, will be specially permitted to accept up to three times more foreign trainees than allowed under the standard rule. Furthermore, stricter regulations will be implemented regarding job transfers to urban areas, with the aim of preventing the concentration of talent in metropolitan regions where wages are typically higher. The measure is designed to reduce outflows of workers from rural areas and help maintain a balanced distribution of talent across different regions. Specifically, at host companies, trainees who have transferred from other employers should not comprise more than one-third of all foreign trainees. For companies located in urban areas, the limit is even more stringent, with transferred trainees permitted to account for no more than one-sixth of all foreign trainees on the payroll. After the decision of the basic policy, the government started formulating detailed policies on operations that will set detailed rules for individual sectors that host trainees from overseas. The government is expected to adopt the policies by the end of the year after discussions at an expert panel, to finalize the new employment for skill development system.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
CK Hutchison to invite China investor to join port deal
CK Hutchison said it may invite a "major strategic investor' from China to join a group seeking to buy its global ports, as the Hong Kong-based company works toward a solution that pleases all in the geopolitically sensitive deal. The unnamed investor would join as a significant member of the consortium, the company said in a stock exchange filing Monday, hours after the expiry of a 145-day exclusive talks window with the group backed by American asset manager BlackRock. "Changes to the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction will be needed for the transaction to be capable of being approved by all relevant authorities,' CK Hutchison said, adding that it "intends to allow such time as is required for such discussions.' State-owned China Cosco Shipping was negotiating a powerful role for itself as a condition to join the consortium, it was reported last week. Shares of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's firm oscillated between gains and losses after the announcement. The stock was up 0.4% as of 10:58 a.m. in in Hong Kong on Monday. Cosco Shipping Holdings, the listed unit of China Cosco, was down 3.11%. Monday's confirmation about a Chinese investor will likely help remove the obstacles that have been holding back the deal. Beijing has so far viewed the sale of CK Hutchison's 43 ports as a threat to its interests because it includes transfer of two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal to the group backed by BlackRock — which China considers a proxy for American influence. Chinese authorities separately warned the parties involved not to bypass antitrust reviews, so as to prevent them from rushing into a deal. CK Hutchison reiterated its position Monday that it "will not proceed with any transaction that does not have the approval of all relevant authorities.' CK Hutchison's shares, which shot up 37% in the days following the sale announcement on March 4, saw political pressure wipe out all the gains in the space of a month. The stock started rallying again last month as investors flocked back after China Cosco came into play. While it may initially sound like positive news, restricting the group to a few potentially strategic buyers means limited competition in the price discovery process for the asset, according to Ke Yan, head of research at DZT Research in Singapore. "Hence, the deal may not fetch the best price that the company hopes for,' he said. The Cheung Kong Center building (center), which houses the headquarters of CK Hutchison and CK Asset Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 4 | Bloomberg Investors have in recent weeks flocked back to CK Hutchison amid optimism that the 96-year-old Li will seal the deal of his lifetime. If it goes through, the sale will net the group more than $19 billion in cash. The renewed optimism is largely due to China Cosco's interest in playing a role in the buying consortium, alongside BlackRock and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's Terminal Investment. "Ongoing negotiations and the reported inclusion of Cosco Shipping in the consortium have likely eased concerns over Chinese regulatory hurdles, strengthening investor confidence in the deal's viability,' according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Denise Wong. Initially hailed as a smart move by Li to exit a business caught up in global trade tensions, the deal quickly drew the ire of Beijing. It didn't help that President Donald Trump billed the transaction as the return of Panama Canal back to American influence. Challenges remain even as Cosco enters the discussions, David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Quiddity Advisors, wrote on financial analysis platform SmartKarma. That could reverse the current rhetoric and upset Trump, who has a handful of issues already on his plate, he said. CK Hutchison's share price could also be under pressure should talks on the sale drag on, he added. Even with an extended timeline, revised terms or a partial agreement, uncertainty around the deal's value and timing would increase, said Bloomberg Intelligence's Wong. The delay may also fuel concerns about regulatory and policy challenges, she said. Investors will be watching out for more answers to questions surrounding the deal, including what role the Chinese side will play in the consortium, said Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis. The controversial deal has also weighed on Li and his family's other businesses. Younger son Richard's talks to expand his insurance business into mainland China have stalled after the ports deal upset Beijing, it was reported earlier this month. That followed another report in March that China told its state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to the Li family. The original structure of the buyer consortium was designed to give the Aponte family-controlled Terminal Investment ownership of all the ports except the two in Panama, whose control will go to BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners unit.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
South Korea pitches Trump on shipyards for last-minute trade deal
South Korea is pitching the U.S. on a shipbuilding partnership as a key proposal to seal a last-minute agreement to avoid a 25% tariff rate. While details remain unclear, Yonhap News reported that South Korea has proposed a multibillion dollar project dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.' South Korea's Industry Ministry declined to comment. "We confirmed the U.S. side's strong interest in the shipbuilding sector and the two countries agreed to work together to develop mutually acceptable terms that include shipbuilding cooperation,' South Korea's presidential office said in a statement Saturday. As countries across Asia clinched deals last week, Seoul's negotiators have been racing to stay engaged with their U.S. counterparts as Washington shifted its focus to the European Union and China. The U.S. and EU announced a pact Sunday that will see the bloc face 15% tariffs on most of its exports to the U.S., including automobiles. The latest agreement which follows a Japan deal last week, adds to the pressure on Asia's fourth-largest economy to clinch a deal. South Korea, where negotiations have been slowed by internal political turmoil, is one of the biggest Asian economies to still be without a deal. Aside from China, other major exporters in the region that are in the thick of negotiations include India and Taiwan. South Korea's finance and foreign ministers are set to meet with their U.S. counterparts this week in a last-minute bid to close the negotiations and the government in Seoul has said the two countries are committed to making a deal before U.S. President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline. Also on table is increased access to South Korea's agricultural market, as well as a fund to invest in American projects similar to an agreement Japan struck. Under the deal, the two sides touted a $550 billion fund as part of the agreement on the tariff rate dropping to 15%. The South Korean talks are similarly focused on reaching a 15% tariff rate, including for autos, and the recent proposals suggest a comparable structure. Putting agricultural imports on the table raises the stakes for South Korea's new government. Past efforts to open the country's beef market sparked nationwide protests and any shift on rice imports could face even stiffer resistance. Barring a deal, Bloomberg Economics estimates a 1.7% hit to South Korea's gross domestic product, with market volatility and uncertainty threatening to push the GDP losses beyond that. Overseas shipments were equivalent to more than 40% of South Korea's GDP last year. "Japan's trade deal paints a positive backdrop but also sets a high bar for others,' Morgan Stanley economist Kathleen Oh said in a note last week. "Korea and Taiwan may need to ramp up new investment schemes to increase agricultural and energy imports and expand market access, as seen in Japan's case.'
