This term paper relates to the legal development of the Technical Intern Training Program (gaikokujin ginō jisshū seido, hereinafter “TITP”) and its forerunner programs from roughly 1989 to 2009. In order to seek answers for the research question, the applicability of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) will be tested.
Alongside shrinking population and workforce numbers and an ageing society, Japan experiences major transformation processes. Having only about 1.8 percent of foreign residents yet, the number of participants in the TITP is steadily on the rise.
The second chapter “The Advocacy Coalition Framework” deals with the policy process theory called ACF, which was developed in the late 1980s.
Chapter three “Historical Evolution of the Technical Intern Program” reconstructs the position of major involved stakeholder and examines legal changes to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Shutsunyūkoku kanri oyobi nanmin nintei hō, hereinafter “Immigration Act”) in four separated periods from the description of distant TITP predecessors prior to 1989 to the last reform of the Immigration Act in 2009.
In chapter four “Applying the Advocacy Coalition Framework to the evolution of the Japanese
Technical Intern Training Program” both prior chapter issues are brought together for an indepth
analysis of the Japanese immigration subsystem using the ACF.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Advocacy Coalition Framework
2.1 Policy Subsystem and External Factors
2.2 The Model of the Individual and Belief Systems
2.3 Advocacy Coalitions
2.4 Pathways to Belief and Policy Change
3. Historical Evolution of the Technical Intern Training Program
3.1 Antecedents of the Technical Intern Training Program
3.2 The revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1989
3.3 Introduction of the Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program in 1993
3.4 The Reform of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 2009
4. Applying the Advocacy Coalition Framework to the evolution of the Japanese Technical Intern Training Program
5. Conclusion
6. List of references
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This term paper examines how the present form of Japan's Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) was created, focusing on the legal developments and policy evolution between 1989 and 2009. The central research question seeks to evaluate the applicability of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) in explaining these policy changes within the Japanese immigration system.
- Legal evolution of the TITP and its forerunner programs (ITP/TIP)
- Application of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to Japanese migration policy
- Role of advocacy coalitions and stakeholder interests in the policy process
- Influence of internal and external shocks on policy subsystems
- Impact of civil society and migrant advocacy organizations (MAOs) on law-making
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 The revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1989
In the late 1980s Japan saw an intensive debate over foreign-labor migration which resulted in the 1989 revision of Immigration Act. The act pathed the way for the ITP, which came into force 1990 (Liang 2014, pp. 245). The major amendment was the introduction of the residence permit “Training”. This visa category allows the trainee to entry Japan without work permit (Kremers 2011, pp. 153) through the admission of trainees by public institutions, international companies and, newly introduced, by cooperatives of SMEs (Kremers 2011, pp. 176). Deborah J. Milly claims, that the revision was a “forced compromise that never resolved basic tensions” (Milly 2014, pp. 61). Those tension occurred between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor (MOL), both jockeying over extended competences in the field of immigration. The MOJ wanted to enforce control over immigration violators and had to set the legal foundations to enable increased hiring of highly skilled employment. Whereas the MOL aimed to established a labor permit system (Milly 2014, pp. 63) and claimed that there was no distinction between Japanese and non-Japanese when it came to labor protections and work-injury compensation (Milly 2014, pp. 68). Next to the MOJ and MOL the Economic Planning Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also played major roles, both opposing the MOJ and strongly encouraging a “technical program” over a specific time. The former Foreign Minister Nakayama Tarō, who was from Kansai (Milly 2014, pp. 65) and thus especially sensitive to his region’s companies, experiencing extreme labor shortages (Milly 2014, pp. 64). Overall there were seventeen involved agencies and ministries having stakes at the field of immigration (Milly 2014, pp. 63). Like the government, business associations were divided too:
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the scope and purpose of the paper, introducing the research question regarding the development of the TITP and identifying the Advocacy Coalition Framework as the primary analytical tool.
2. The Advocacy Coalition Framework: This chapter provides a theoretical overview of the ACF, defining key concepts such as policy subsystems, belief systems, advocacy coalitions, and pathways to policy change.
3. Historical Evolution of the Technical Intern Training Program: This chapter reconstructs the historical development of Japan's trainee programs from 1989 to 2009, detailing specific legislative amendments and the shifting stakeholder landscape.
4. Applying the Advocacy Coalition Framework to the evolution of the Japanese Technical Intern Training Program: This chapter synthesizes the historical data with the ACF, analyzing how coalitions, exogenous factors, and shocks influenced the policy trajectory of the TITP.
5. Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the findings, asserting that policy changes are incremental and explaining why the Japanese immigration subsystem remains resistant to radical reform despite coalition pressures.
6. List of references: This section provides a comprehensive bibliography of the academic sources used to support the analysis.
Keywords
Technical Intern Training Program, TITP, Advocacy Coalition Framework, ACF, Japanese immigration policy, policy subsystem, migration, foreign labor, policy change, civil society, migrant advocacy, labour market, policy-oriented learning, policy shocks, Japan
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper investigates the legal development and creation of Japan's Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) between 1989 and 2009.
What theoretical lens is used to analyze the policy development?
The author uses the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to explain how policy changes occur within the Japanese immigration subsystem.
What is the central research question?
The paper seeks to answer: "How was the present form of Japan's Technical Intern Training Program created?"
Which key stakeholder groups are identified in the immigration policy field?
The paper identifies three main camps: the reformists (e.g., DPJ), the expansionists (business associations like Keidanren), and the abolitionists (migrant advocacy organizations).
How does the paper categorize the path to policy change?
It analyzes policy change through external and internal shocks, policy-oriented learning, and the influence of advocacy coalitions.
What is the limitation regarding the scope of the study?
The research is limited to low-skilled work migration and focuses on a macro-level analysis, excluding highly-skilled or undocumented immigration and human rights specificities.
What role did the US Department of State play in the evolution of the program?
The US Department of State's 2007 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report acted as an exogenous shock, condemning the TITP for conditions resembling forced labor, which pressured the Japanese government.
How does the "devil shift" concept apply to this case?
The "devil shift" describes how Japanese migrant advocacy organizations (MAOs) perceived their opponents as evil, which intensified their cooperation and led to the formation of national umbrella organizations.
Why is the Japanese immigration system characterized as resistant to breakthrough reform?
The paper identifies institutional fragmentation and the lack of centralized decision-making institutions as primary reasons for the incremental nature of policy change.
What is the significance of the 2009 reform of the Immigration Act?
It replaced the old system, established basic labor protection rights for interns from the first year, and introduced a new visa type, marking a significant, albeit incremental, policy shift.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2018, The Legal Development of the Technical Intern Training Program. How was the present form of Japan's TITP created?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/919397
