Times up. Go home. Now.
Rita Yamaoka, a mother of three who immigrated from Brazil, recentlylost her factory job here. Now, Japan has made her an offer she mightnot be able to refuse.
The government will pay thousands of dollars to fly Mrs. Yamaoka;her husband, who is a Brazilian citizen of Japanese descent; and theirfamily back to Brazil. But in exchange, Mrs. Yamaoka and her husbandmust agree never to seek to work in Japan again.
“I feelimmense stress. I’ve been crying very often,” Mrs. Yamaoka, 38, saidafter a meeting where local officials detailed the offer in thisindustrial town in central Japan.
“I tell my husband that we should take the money and go back,” shesaid, her eyes teary. “We can’t afford to stay here much longer.”
Japan’soffer, extended to hundreds of thousands of blue-collar Latin Americanimmigrants, is part of a new drive to encourage them to leave thisrecession-racked country. So far, at least 100 workers and theirfamilies have agreed to leave, Japanese officials said.
Butcritics denounce the program as shortsighted, inhumane and a threat towhat little progress Japan has made in opening its economy to foreignworkers.
“It’s a disgrace. It’s cold-hearted,” said Hidenori Sakanaka, director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, an independent research organization.
“AndJapan is kicking itself in the foot,” he added. “We might be in arecession now, but it’s clear it doesn’t have a future without workersfrom overseas.”
The program is limited to the country’s LatinAmerican guest workers, whose Japanese parents and grandparentsemigrated to Brazil and neighboring countries a century ago to work oncoffee plantations.
In 1990, Japan — facing a growingindustrial labor shortage — started issuing thousands of special workvisas to descendants of these emigrants. An estimated 366,000Brazilians and Peruvians now live in Japan.
The guest workersquickly became the largest group of foreign blue-collar workers in anotherwise immigration-averse country, filling the so-called three-Kjobs (kitsui, kitanai, kiken — hard, dirty and dangerous).
Butthe nation’s manufacturing sector has slumped as demand for Japanesegoods evaporated, pushing unemployment to a three-year high of 4.4percent. Japan’s exports plunged 45.6 percent in March from a yearearlier, and industrial production is at its lowest level in 25 years.
Newdata from the Japanese trade ministry suggested manufacturing outputcould rise in March and April, as manufacturers start to easeproduction cuts. But the numbers could have more to do with inventoriesfalling so low that they need to be replenished than with any increasein demand.
While Japan waits for that to happen, it has been keento help foreign workers leave, which could ease pressure on domesticlabor markets and the unemployment rolls.
“There won’t be goodemployment opportunities for a while, so that’s why we’re suggestingthat the Nikkei Brazilians go home,” said Jiro Kawasaki, a formerhealth minister and senior lawmaker of the ruling Liberal DemocraticParty.
“Nikkei” visas are special visas granted because of Japanese ancestry or association.
Mr.Kawasaki led the ruling party task force that devised the repatriationplan, part of a wider emergency strategy to combat rising unemployment.
Under the emergency program, introduced this month, thecountry’s Brazilian and other Latin American guest workers are offered$3,000 toward air fare, plus $2,000 for each dependent — attractivelump sums for many immigrants here. Workers who leave have been toldthey can pocket any amount left over.
But those who travel homeon Japan’s dime will not be allowed to reapply for a work visa.Stripped of that status, most would find it all but impossible toreturn. They could come back on three-month tourist visas. Or, if theybecame doctors or bankers or held certain other positions, and had acompany sponsor, they could apply for professional visas.
Spain,with a unemployment rate of 15.5 percent, has adopted a similarprogram, but immigrants are allowed to reclaim their residency and workvisas after three years.
Japan is under pressure to allowreturns. Officials have said they will consider such a modification,but have not committed to it.