New Foreign Worker Status No Policy for Immigration: Abe

October 29, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that the planned establishment of new residence status for foreign workers does not represent a policy for immigration.

"We don't mean to adopt a so-called immigration policy," Abe told a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives, attending the first parliamentary discussions since his new cabinet was launched on Oct. 2.

"We aren't considering introducing a policy aimed at maintaining the nation by accepting a certain number of foreigners and their family members for indefinite periods set in proportion to the country's population," Abe said.

Abe explained that the new residence status does not mark a shift to a policy for immigration.

The prime minister was responding to a question by Yukio Edano, chief of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, about a planned immigration control law revision to accept more foreign workers by creating the new status in order to address current labor shortages.

The day's meeting followed Abe's policy speech, delivered at parliament Wednesday, when an extraordinary Diet session was convened for a 48-day run.

Edano criticized Abe for his recently announced policy of increasing the country's consumption tax to 10 pct from 8 pct in October next year as planned.

"The current situation does not allow any consumption tax hike that would hit low-income earners hard," Edano said.

Abe said his government will take all possible policy steps to cushion the impact of the tax increase on the economy.

"The government will launch a fiscal measure benefitting those who buy large durable goods such as automobiles and houses on Oct. 1 next year and later," the prime minister said.

Tomomi Inada, chief deputy secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, asked whether the prime minister sees an urgent need to revise the country's constitution.

Abe said it is the responsibility of politicians to create an environment in which all Self-Defense Forces personnel can fulfill their duties with pride.

He again indicated his resolve to add a provision on the SDF to the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution.

Inada also urged Abe to strongly protest a visit by 13 South Korean lawmakers last week to the disputed Takeshima islands in the Sea of Japan, controlled by Seoul and claimed by Tokyo.

The visit was regrettable, Abe said, adding that he wants South Korea to take appropriate action.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, claimed that Japan should realize the early return of the Habomai group of islets and the Shikotan island, two of the four northwestern Pacific islands at the center of Japan's territorial dispute with Russia.

Abe said that Japan's consistent position is that it will resolve the sovereignty issue over all of the four islands before concluding a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities between the two countries.

Regarding trade with the United States, the prime minister said Japan is not considering liberalizing its services sector entirely in negotiations for a proposed trade agreement on goods, or TAG. Therefore, the talks are not for concluding a free trade agreement, he said. Jiji Press