Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture

Special Lecture Series: Vulnerable Populations in Japan under Covid-19 - 6

Invites you to a discussion with Bao Quyen Tran, Sophia University,

"Vietnamese Technical Trainees in Japan Voice Concerns Amidst COVID-19"

Date: Wednesday, February 17th, 2021
Time: 7pm-8pm (Tokyo time)
Presentation will be followed by Q and A
On Zoom. Open to all; Language English

Please register HERE
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=p-YOaaVN3E-jFrtZnYKl0pSDtnsMuJVAtzRnSitkskJUMDFFUlhIWEpVNUJBMDE1WFlLSllJV0tJUi4u

The Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) - a short-term labor rotation system that originated in 1993 - brings young and middle-aged workers from developing countries to Japan with a stated objective to transfer Japanese vocational skills and techniques to these workers. However, the program faced criticism for doing little more than covering the chronic labor shortage in unskilled blue-collar jobs that are regarded unfavorably by many Japanese in recent years. This paper highlights the heightened vulnerability of the technical intern trainees as cheap and disposable sources of labor, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on digital communications with 16 Vietnamese technical trainees and an analysis of the content on media platforms since the outbreak of the pandemic, the paper extends my previous work on the challenges faced by technical intern trainees, analyzing the handling of Japanese governments and the accepting companies. The article also introduces the roles of support groups in Japan devoted to protecting vulnerable technical intern trainees. At a moment when the Japanese government is reforming and promoting the TITP, this analysis of Vietnamese technical trainees during the COVID-19 crisis is particularly timely.

Bảo Quyên Trần graduated from Sophia University in Fall 2020 with a Master degree in Japanese Studies. Her research interest lies in the changing patterns of inbound migration in contemporary Japanese society. For her M.A. dissertation, she focuseds on the Technical Intern Training program, examining its actual role and challenges through a study of current Vietnamese technical intern trainees.

Bao will be discussing her recently published paper: "Vietnamese Technical Trainees in Japan Voice Concerns Amidst COVID-19" from our collection in the Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus