Tokyo (AsiaNews) Historic moment for foreign workers in Japan, at least from those from the Philippines, thanks to an agreement signed by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, at the recent ASEAN annual summit.
The agreement is the first concrete step between the countries in realising the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) the two signed.
Main goals are removing custom dues and opening the Japanese market to Filipino workers. This is especially important for Filipino nursing and health care staff who are granted a working visa renewable every three years with the same rights as their Japanese counterparts; only conditions: be a registered nurse and adequate knowledge of Japanese.
The significance of the accord becomes clear if one compares it with the current situation foreign workers must face in Japan.
There are currently 800,000 foreign workers in the country, 220,000 who are illegal. The authorities can deport anyone with out proper papers and the situation of those with work permits is not rosy. They usually lack insurance and are relegate to KKK jobs, i.e. the kibishii (hard), kiken (dangerous), kitanai (dirty) jobs. Under Japanese law only those who are highly qualified whose degrees are recognised by the government can work in well-paying jobs.
The terms and conditions laid out in the agreement make it appear ground-breaking. In fact, till now it was nigh impossible for Filipinos to learn enough Japanese to pass exams because of the exorbitant prices of language courses. The new agreement now requires Japan to provide financial aid and language training to Filipino immigrants in their first six months in the country. Since demand for nursing and health care staff is high, the future for workers in the health care sector is looking good.
For the missionary Church the new Japanese-Filipino relations are a sign of the times that needs to be analysed carefully, and a challenge that must be met without hesitations.
For the new agreement to become real both parties must invest themselves body and soul.
Foreign missioners in Japan are in a unique position few others can claim for they are the quintessential bridge builders between people of different cultures.
I know this first hand because in September I replaced a colleague, Fr Ferruccio Brambillasca, who was in charge of a Catholic church in the town of Choshi, about 80 km from Tokyo, that serves a small local Catholic community and a larger group of Filipino immigrants.
The young missioner wisely chose to celebrate mass to a mixed congregation rather than separate the two as is usually done in other churches. Results are amazing since people from both groups are reaching a common understanding. Thanks to the new agreement someone like Father Brambillasca can go further in his mission as a cultural mediator.