## Section 3 ☐ Other Measures

## Time-Limited Emergency Measures in the Fields of Construction and Shipbuilding

In order to deal with the further acceleration of the reconstruction projects and temporary increased demand for construction owing to the development of facilities related to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, a decision was made by the Ministerial Committee on the Employment of Foreign Workers in the Construction Field (April 4, 2014) to permit as an emergency measure for a limited time, foreign nationals who have completed their technical intern training in the construction field to engage in construction work in Japan with the status of residence of “Designated Activities” under a special supervision framework, in principle, for a maximum period of two years (three years in the case of a person who has returned to their home country for a period of one year or more following the completion of their technical intern training), on condition that utmost efforts have been made to secure human resources in Japan.

In response, the “Public Notice on Projects for Acceptance of Foreign Construction Workers” (Public Notice of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), which provides for the specific contents of the measures, was announced in August 2014, with the administrative work of certifying trustworthy supervising organizations, etc. commencing in January 2015, and those foreign construction workers who are eligible under these measures being accepted from April of the same year.

In addition, with regard to the shipping industry which tends to see a large two-way flow of human resources to and from the construction industry, the “Japan Revitalization Strategy (Revised in 2014)” stated that time-limited emergency measures similar to those of the construction industry should be taken, and therefore, the “Public Notice on Projects for Acceptance of Foreign Shipbuilding Workers” (Public Notice of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), which provides for the specific contents of the measures was announced in December 2014, with the administrative work of certifying trustworthy supervising organizations, etc. commencing in January 2015, and those foreign construction workers who are eligible under these measures being accepted from April of the same year.

Moreover, these projects for acceptance are a temporary measure until FY 2020.

## ② Domestic Acceptance of Employees from Overseas Subsidiaries in the Manufacturing Industry

In light of fears about de-industrialization within Japan due to accelerating overseas expansion by Japanese manufacturing industry, the “Japan Revitalization Strategy (Revised in 2014)” (approved by a Cabinet decision on June 24, 2014) proposed the development of a systems that will enable domestic bases to function as mother plants, carrying out production activities based on a division of roles with overseas bases, and which will also facilitate research and development and capital investment based on this premise. In response, a system that requires approval of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, was introduced in March 2016 in order to make it possible to accept employees from overseas subsidiaries of Japanese manufactures to Japan, with acceptance permitted limited to a maximum limit of one year.