Life and Future of Thai Technical Intern Trainees in Japan

Jessadakorn Kalapong
Enrollment year: 2020
Research site: Japan, Aichi Prefecture, Miyoshi-shi, Taharaand Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai-shi, Miyagino ward
Research period: 04/06/2022 to 13/06/2022
Keywords: Migrant workers, Unskilled labour, Thai workers in Japan, Technical Intern Training
Program (TITP)

Research background
In Japan, a number of Thai migrant workers are employed through the Technical Intern Training
Program (TITP). Most of them are employed in machinery, food processing, agriculture, construction,and other industries, in which Japanese enterprises are encountering labour shortages. Working andliving in a different country to their own, how they negotiate their lives under different social and culturalconditions remains unclear.
Research purpose
This research aims to provide an ethnographic study of the Thai Technical Intern Trainees in Japan,
particularly their working and living conditions as well as future plans after their completion of thetraining program.
Results/Achievements
I conducted fieldwork in the prefectures of Aichi and Miyagi, interviewing two female and six maleparticipants, respectively. In Aichi prefecture, I met Gift and Jan (pseudonyms), who worked in a metalpressing company. In general, they were satisfied with their working and living conditions. They could
spend their spare time studying Japanese. Particularly, Gift attended an advanced-level Japanese classconducted by Japanese volunteers in her community. She explained that she wanted to master Japanese
as much as possible in order to get other opportunities in Japan. And recently, Gift changed her residence
status to ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ (SSW), a new visa programme for foreign workers in Japan, so she
could remain in the country for at least five years longer. She also elaborated on the rationale for her
decision to continue working in Japan. First, she determined that no one in Thailand was awaiting herreturn. She had already ended her relationship with her boyfriend after deciding to renew her TITP
contract two years ago. Her parents had also divorced and begun their new lives. Gift asserted that she
felt as though she no longer had roots in Thailand. Additionally, she had no interest in working inThailand. So, she decided to extend her sojourn in order to explore new aspirations. The account of Gift
exemplifies the decision making of migrants who continue to live in low socio-occupational status in
Japan in order to pursue their aspirations.
On the contrary, her friend Jan intended to return to Thailand and start her own business. Jan
mentioned that her job in Japan was not very difficult. Yet she felt that she was poorly paid. As a result,her private life in Japan was considerably constrained. She usually spent the majority of her time at workand in her room. She did not spend much time outside because doing so would incur substantial costs.
Therefore, she decided to return to Thailand, where she found it easier to engage in many other activitiesof interest. Her narrative suggests that, despite the fact that TITP workers’ incomes in Japan are fairly
high when translated to remittances or Thai currency, their financial conditions in Japan are quite
constrained. Additionally, constrained social spaces, both physically and in terms of social circles, cause
them distress.
The narratives of male workers in Miyagi prefecture differ slightly from Gift and Jan’s. As workers

for a construction company, the majority of their tasks were physically demanding and necessitatedadditional commute time to their construction sites, which were dispersed. They described difficulties
at their workplaces, such as the heaviness of their work materials, disputes with their Japanesesupervisors, and tiredness from the early morning commute to their sites. However, as most of them
have been working there for more than two years, they have learned to cope with the issues in their own
ways and have mastered their jobs to the point that the company has asked them to stay for two moreyears. However, they all chose not to extend their stays. Some planned to return to Thailand to start theirown businesses, while others planned to go to other destinations. For example, Oat wanted to continue
his journey to Taiwan after returning to Thailand. According to a friend, whose father worked there andprovided him with information, Taiwan may have lower wages than Japan, but the cost of living is lower.
And above all else, it is not as tough as in Japan. In this sense, Thai migrants compare their direct
migration experiences in Japan with information about their next destinations they are able to obtainthrough various channels, such as social media, internet sources, or their social networks. Regardless ofthe discrepancy between the information and the possible realities in those destinations, adverse
conditions in Japan, whether in terms of economic returns, occupational hardships, or constrained life,
become their subjective worse-off that they attempt to avoid while continuing to pursue their aspirations.
These narratives illustrate the interplay between the agency of migrants, both in terms of intention
and power, and the structural forces that shape diverse migratory trajectories. While the migratory
structure has given them temporary status, migrants are capable of looking for ways to extend their stay.
In contrast, for those who find they do not wish to be suppressed by the current structure any longer,
they just step out of it.
Plans for further research
As a part of further study, I intend to identify the social and cultural capital that Thai TITP workers
utilise for their identities and power negotiations while living in Japan and achieving their long-termgoals.

Photo 1: Reading materials in an advanced-level Japanese class which Gift attended

Photo 2: The construction toolkits of a TITP worker in Miyagi prefecture