Mitsubishi Motors Makes Filipino Interns Do Unrelated Tasks

May 27, 2018

Tokyo- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has made 33 of 65 Filipino technical interns at its plant in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, work on tasks that were not included in training programs for them, it was learned on Friday.

Japan's Justice Ministry and Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry are expected to investigate the matter on suspicion that the automaker may have violated a law on technical intern training, informed sources said.

Under the law, a company hiring foreigners as interns is required to compile a training program and obtain approval for the plan from the Organization for Technical Intern Training.

According to Mitsubishi Motors' public relations department, the 33 interns from the Philippines, who came to the company to acquire welding skills, were assigned simpler welding tasks than under their training programs and the assembly of automobiles.

This came to light as Friend Nippon, a cooperative in the western Japan city of Hiroshima, which introduced the Filipinos to the company, discovered the practice.

An official in charge at the Okazaki plant wrongly understood that the interns could be assigned jobs other than those under the training programs after passing a welding technique test held a year after the start of training, according to the department.

Of the 33 people, 13 will move to another company to continue their training and acquire further skills while the remaining 20 are hoping to go back to the Philippines early.

Mitsubishi Motors is considering paying full wages for the internship period to the 20 people who would leave early. Jiji Press