A civilizational critique of expanding foreign labor in Japan, examining hidden domestic labor potential, structural failures in education, vocational reform proposals, and the concept of a “national defense tax” for foreign residents.

2019-01-03

In present-day Japan, there are in fact countless potential candidates for manual labor and service occupations.
They are right there around us, yet we fail to see them.
The following continues from the previous chapter, and since the author, director, cast, and all those involved in the film Villain are not living in the world of art in vain, they should instantly realize that there is no answer beyond the following essay as to why the evil they portrayed—including the recent Harajuku vehicle attacker—comes into being.
You are in the world of art, and therefore it should be your true calling to wish to correct Japan and society.
If, however, you are concerned only with fame, recognition, and making money, then my proposal in this essay will be nothing more than preaching to the deaf.
The following is from an essay by Professor Nobuyuki Kaji published in last month’s issue of WiLL.
Professor Kaji graduated from Kyoto University and became Professor Emeritus at Osaka University, a senior I deeply respect.
This essay may, without exaggeration, be called one of the finest in recent years.
Emphasis in the text is mine.
I, an old man, am in this world an unnecessary and useless being.
In my declining years, I am but a troublesome fellow causing inconvenience.
Precisely for that reason, if I formally announce my challenge, perhaps an unrestrained strike may be permitted.
I am by nature a conservative traditionalist.
I support the Liberal Democratic Party government.
Yet what is wrong must be said to be wrong.
Foremost among recent wrongs is the legalization of expanded acceptance of foreign workers in Japan.
According to media reports, this responds to strong demands from the business community.
However, when these business leaders claim labor shortages, they are fundamentally mistaken.
Allow me first to explain this.
What exactly are these expanded-category workers.
At their core are manual laborers and service workers.
From this alone, one can infer the general situation.
In present-day Japan, there are in fact countless potential candidates for such work.
They are present all around us, yet unseen.
Let me speak frankly.
Many who could live happily by engaging in manual labor or service work instead advance to high school or university and thereby fall into unhappiness.
Observe the academic realities of high schools and universities.
In Osaka Prefecture, for example, admission to elite high schools such as Kitano and Tennoji requires scores of 97 or 98 out of 100.
Meanwhile, there are numerous schools where 7 or 8 out of 100 suffices.
In truth, many who complete compulsory education could forgo high school, enter the real workforce, acquire solid technical skills, and earn a living for life.
Yet they proceed to high school.
And tragedy awaits.
Japanese, math, social studies, science, English—the content remains incomprehensible.
Thus, even when seeking employment after high school, they are not competent.
Reluctantly, they then advance to university.
Universities suffering from student shortages admit them freely.
Four years pass in near idleness, and with no real skills or knowledge, they obtain clerical positions, from which an unhappy life begins.
Why.
The answer is obvious.
An incompetent clerical worker faces eventual dismissal.
Some will withdraw from society altogether.
Most current high schools and universities are creating reserves of such unhappy lives.
Therefore, for junior high graduates who do not truly need to advance to high school or university, the Ministry of Education should establish new one-year technical schools—perhaps attached to high schools—where practical skills are taught and students are sent into society equipped for manual work.
If so, there would be no need to import foreign laborers.
Why do neither the Ministry nor Keidanren undertake such independent efforts.
Address this issue with a hundred-year vision.
Even if supported, my proposal would take time to implement.
Thus, as an interim measure, I present a new proposal.
For newly arriving foreigners and those already residing in Japan, since Japan guarantees their safety, why not collect, in addition to income tax, an annual 200,000 yen as a “national defense tax.”
If there are two million, that would yield 400 billion yen.
Use these funds for strict monitoring.
Such a national defense tax has precedent.
Switzerland reportedly imposes a similar levy of approximately 300,000 yen on long-term foreign residents.
Foreigners who refuse to pay should be immediately deported.
That too would constitute another form of national defense.
In this way, foreign laborers should be strictly managed.
Meanwhile, educational reform based not on formal academic credentials but on intrinsic human capability must be pursued.
That is the true hundred-year strategy required of statesmen.
As the ancients said, without compass and square, one cannot form a circle or a square.