The Japanese government will allow non-Japanese to work on farms in special economic zones to alleviate a shortage of labor in rural areas.
“Our offspring will thrive from simply being around a gaijin who uses its only skill of speaking English to receive a minimum wage,” says farmer Ryoichi Tanaka from Akita Prefecture.
Employers in the gaijin-friendly special zones will be required to pay the foreign workers at wage rates comparable to the average English conversation school in Tokyo – enough to live in a small apartment and frequent all-you-can-drink karaoke bars at least once a fortnight.
There will be strict conditions of employment, however, with applicants being required to string at least two sentences together in their native language of English.
農業で外国人労働者を受け入れへ 規制緩和策を決定 https://t.co/JGu67dp0wH
— テレ朝news (@tv_asahi_news) December 12, 2016
Abe announces new “skilled gaijin” policy
The gaijin will be selected after performing a mock lesson and will receive no formal training before starting work.
“The gaijin’s only worth comes from its uncanny ability to speak in its own mother tongue,” says Tanaka.
