Agriculture, Fishery and Aquaculture are three of the most prevalent sources of income and staple food in the Philippines particularly in the rural and suburban areas. However, in a highly urbanized country like Japan, there are fewer and fewer workers who are willing to invest their time and effort in agricultural activities.
Known to many countries across the globe, the Land of the Rising Sun is one of the most technologically advanced nations worldwide. Japan is highly commended for its modern innovations and excellent quality of products. Due to these factors, the country emerged as one of the fastest growing economic tigers in the world.
Amidst the country’s upward progress in terms of current economic growth and development, it lacks one of the biggest resources for a strong and stable economy which is the supply of human resources belonging to the working age population.
In view of the aging population, low birth rate and vast decline in inward migration in Japan, the country is dealing with one of the social impacts or consequences of chronic labor shortage. There are fourteen specific industries in Japan that are identified to suffer the worst forms of workforce setback.
These fourteen sectors include Care worker, Building Cleaning Management, Machine Parts & Tooling Industry, Industrial Machinery Manufacturing Industry, Electric, Electronic and Information Industries, Construction Industry, Shipbuilding and Ship Machinery Industry, Automobile Repair and Maintenance, Aviation Industry, Accommodation Industry, Agriculture Fishery and Aquaculture as well as Food and Beverage production.
The field of agriculture, fishery and aquaculture actually belongs to the abovementioned list of industries that suffer the most serious forms of labor shortage. To entice more and more foreign nationals who have considerable experience and skills in farming, the Japanese government introduced the “Specified Skilled Worker” visa category which provides for less stringent requirements for these foreign workers.
Foreign agriculturist need not be college or university graduates as long as they pass the industry specific exam conducted by the particular sector in Japan and obtain at least an “N4” level in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
Reference: Specified Skilled Visa
