## Article: At the Front Line of Immigration Control Administration (voice of an immigration inspector in charge of residence examinations) (Inspection Department, Sendai Regional Immigration Bureau: Hisako Yamazaki)

I am responsible for the inspection of the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training” at the Inspection Department. The aim of this status of residence is to have the people of foreign countries learn Japanese skills, etc., and to have them take back these skills and utilize them in their home country. The “technical intern training” includes Japanese language courses and courses on the related laws and regulations, etc., and aims to have the trainees engage in activities to acquire skills, etc. while engaging in work based on an employment contract with a company. There are two ways allowed for the acceptance of technical intern trainees: “company-arranged scheme” where an enterprise in Japan accepts employees from an overseas local corporation, etc. and “association-supervised scheme” where, through a non-profit supervising organization (business cooperative, etc.), an enterprise which is a cooperative member accepts the trainees; but most of the trainees are accepted through the method of “association-supervised scheme”. Currently, about half of the technical intern trainees residing in the jurisdictional area of Sendai Regional Immigration Bureau are engaged in the sewn products industry or the fisheries processing industry, while others are engaged in various industries such as the chicken processing industry and agriculture. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the number of technical intern trainees decreased owing to such influences as the fisheries processing plants being carried away by the tsunami, but recovery has been progressing with reconstruction of the factories in the coastal areas, and the number of technical intern trainees has been returning to the previous level before the earthquake.

In the actual examination, we focus on checking whether the companies and supervising organizations are appropriately conducting the technical intern training. Specifically, whether proper salaries are being paid to the technical intern trainees, whether they are being made to work excessive overtime, and whether there are human rights infringements being committed, such as the trainee being deprived of their passport or residence card. If as a result of the examination, the business establishment is found to be conducting improper acceptance, instructions on improvement relating to the improper conduct will be issued to the business establishment, and measures may be taken to suspend the acceptance of technical intern trainees depending on the contents of the improper conduct and other measures may be taken with the cooperation of the related organizations.

With regard to the system of technical intern training, well as fundamentally reinforcing the system of management and supervision, a related bill incorporating measures to extend the training period for trustworthy supervising organizations and technical intern trainees and to increase the fixed quota of trainees to be accepted was submitted to the Diet. In addition, from April of this year, time-limited measures until FY 2020 were started in the construction and shipbuilding sector, whereby foreign nationals who have completed their technical intern training in this sector will be permitted to work for two or three years. The status of residence of “Technical Intern Training” is a topic which never seems short of discussion, but I intend to focus on carrying out proper examinations while bearing in mind that the training plays a part in making an international contribution, which is the transfer of skills to a foreign country.