With more than two weeks left to pass since coronaviruses border control measures were largely relaxed on November 8, Japan is poised to accept technical intern trainees and foreign students. There are concerns over infections resurging and long procedures delaying arrivals.
Time-consuming procedures mean people can only enter Japan after a few months, although the easing of border restrictions is great news for institutions accepting individuals from overseas. Parties working to accept foreign individuals are rushing to welcome them into the country, though anxious due to uncertainties.
Just because border restrictions were relaxed doesn't mean they can come today or tomorrow. The non-commercial supervisory organization, authorized by the Japanese government, serves as a go-between for technical interns and food manufacturers and auto parts companies in southwest Japan's Kyushu region and western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi.
As part of the coronavirus prevention measures, the Japanese government banned entry into the country from February 2020 because of its immigration law. It began with arrivals from China's Hubei province, and expanded the list of banned regions to include areas across the world, including all of China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe. The restrictions on new entries by businesspeople, students, technical interns and other mid- to long-term visitors were eased in October 2020, but were suspended fully from January 2021 during the third infection wave.
There have been restrictions on technical interns entry that have resulted in labor shortages for companies. According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 188,872 new technical interns entered the country in 2019, and 2020 saw fewer than 60% of entries, with 83,826 entries. In 2021, only 23,407 technical interns had entered Japan by the end of August, with just 13 admitted since February.
Hundreds of thousands of technical interns are believed to be waiting to enter Japan, and there are over 200 cases of waiting technical interns handled by the Fukuoka Joho Business Cooperatives. The strengthened border control of the national government is complicating procedures.
Before the flu, the organization only needed visas from Japanese embassies and other diplomatic establishments overseas after being issued a certificate of eligibility for residential status by the Immigration Services Agency before technical interns entered Japan. After receiving the certificate of eligibility, the organization must go through a preliminary review by ministries and agencies that accept foreign interns. This takes two to six weeks, according to Muto. There have been cases where procedures for visas, previously obtainable within 10 days, took over a month due to a flood of applications. It's estimated that it's going to take two to three months for interns to enter the country. We're worried that a sixth infection wave might come in this time, said Muto.
The universities that accept foreign students are also concerned. Nearly half of the 5,700 students at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific UniversityAsia Pacific University Ritsumeikan APU, which is a private university in southwest Japan's Beppu, Oita Prefecture, are foreign students studying abroad in Japan. Around 30% of their 2,700 foreign students are enrolled in online lessons due to being unable to enter Japan.
A 20-year-old student from Nepal who has been locked out of Japan for about two years said I'm excited because I can go to Japan. I'm looking forward to meeting the professors and other students.