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Abstract
This article examines why Japan is not perceived to be attractive by foreign technical talent even though there is growing demand for such professionals. It examines three sets of barriers: Japanese business practices, immigration policies and social-cultural factors. Given Japan's sluggish growth and demographic crisis, the study also suggests that countries and cities, when playing the globalisation game of attracting talent for national competitiveness, must balance domestic and expatriate needs. Based on both published data from Japanese and other sources as well as primary data collected through field surveys of Indian technical professionals in Japan and India, this study places Japan in the wider context of globalisation and mobility of international talent. Based on the patterns of Asian flows of talent, especially Chinese and Indian talent, the paper concludes that Japan must create a conducive professional and social environment to attract talent.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank H. Obrai of the IT Club of Tokyo, T. Kobayashi and S. Kobayashi who provided valuable statistical and qualitative information; numerous Indian and Japanese representatives of various IT companies in Japan and India who shared their experience in Japan; and Janette Rawlings who has always provided editorial support with a firm and creative hand. Field research was made possible by an Abe Fellowship from the Japan Foundation.
Notes
1. I have liberally applied the notion of ‘barbarians’ in both a literal sense and that used by Angell and Ezer (Citation2006) to denote India's new subclass around the IT industry, which is challenging the established order.
2. A total of 81 IT firms and IT-linked organisations were interviewed in India and Japan in 2005 and 2006 over a five month period. They covered Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, and the greater Delhi area in India, and the greater Tokyo area, Yokohama, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Fukuoka in Japan.
3. In 1996 the UK and the US registered 13,000 and 32,000 intra-company transfers respectively (OECD Citation2005, p. 36). In 2002, the numbers were 19,000 and 58,000.
4. In 2000, Switzerland faced a shortage of 10,000 IT workers (Page Citation2003, p. 208).
5. The US is attractive for students because of excellent, post-baccalaureate science and engineering programmes in large, well-endowed university systems, financial assistance for students, professional career opportunities, and a very receptive attitude toward foreign students based on the broader liberal political culture. English-speaking students find it easy to adjust to the American social environment. Nearly 50 per cent of permanent residents do not become citizens, indicating few differences in benefits for citizens and non-citizens (Cornelius & Tsuda 2004, p. 21).
6. For a detailed discussion of costs and benefits of international mobility for both sending and receiving countries see D'Costa (Citation2008a).
7. It is possible for synergies to be weak and learning opportunities limited if such workers provide peripheral services to the more knowledge-intensive projects carried out by clients. For example, the Indian IT industry, despite its global prominence, still suffers from weak innovation links (D'Costa Citation2008b).
8. The data are collected by a number of Japanese government ministries with varying definitions. Hence, the data are not always consistent.
9. Visa categories include professionals such as professors, engineers, journalists, investors, lawyers, medical professionals, etc. (Japan Immigration Association, various years). These professionals largely fall under OECD's human resources in science and technology (HRST).
10. North and South Korea are treated together as there are many (Northern) Koreans (of formerly undivided Korea) living in Japan since the colonisation of Korea. However, the 1947 Alien Registration Law treated Japanese Koreans as aliens (Higuchi Citation2006, p. 7). The 1965 Normalisation Treaty with South Korea began the process of recognising special permanent residency for Koreans.
11. Although the Philippines is emerging as a global IT services provider, its professional presence in Japan is less than two per cent of the total Philippine registrations compared to India's share of 32 per cent in 2005 (Japan Immigration Association, various years). Japan's historical links and geographical proximity have a bearing on the presence of unskilled, non-Indian, Asian workers.
12. There have been instances of poor quality of Indian software services in Japan in the past and there are still big differences in quality expectations between Japanese and Indian firms. Interviews held in Japan with many Indian firms that have Japanese clients unequivocally pointed out the much higher quality standards demanded by the Japanese to the point of exceeding the project budget agreed to earlier (personal interviews, Tokyo 2005 and 2006).
13. According to METI's Current Survey of Selected Service Industries for December 2006, Japan's IT services market was ¥1095 billion or roughly US$9.3 billion. An exchange rate of ¥120 to a US dollar has been used throughout the paper.
14. The US naturalises over 700,000 foreigners a year (US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Citation2007).
15. In one case where a Japanese man gave ninchi for one child but not the other when he deserted his Filipino partner with whom he had the children, this meant that the first child could get Japanese citizenship while the second could not (see Fitch Citation2005).
16. One Korean resident discovered to his dismay that his parking violation put his application on hold for five years, which made him reject a Japanese citizenship (Matsubara Citation2001). Although an extreme case, the frivolity of the judgment for such a serious matter does raise red flags about the process as a whole.
17. The US government treats its permanent residents nearly as equal to its citizens, as evidenced by the reporting of data (unlike Japan) such as on science and engineering enrolments (Oliver Citation2006), suggesting the importance of resident contribution to the society without regard to national origin.
18. According to one informant, initially Japanese perceived most Indians to be cooks. That view has changed due to media reporting. Today most Tokyo residents understand Indians to be engineers. The success of Shinsei Bank, which deployed thousands of Indian IT professionals in Tokyo and India, strengthened this perception. The non-availability of vegetarian food in Japan was initially a real challenge for many Indians. There are now, by some accounts, nearly 400 Indian restaurants in the Tokyo metro area.
19. While the discussion here is geared toward what Japan ought to do for securing global talent, it is noted that sending countries also have their shortcomings and therefore they too must prepare themselves better to take advantage of the opportunities in the global economy.
20. Substantial sums are spent on teaching English in schools but the results are not encouraging.
21. A survey of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in 2004 showed that there were 90,356 Chinese applicants compared to India's 3869 (JISA Citation2006, p. 39). Similarly, China had more than 111 times the teachers for Japanese language than India. Few Indians, compared to the Chinese, study Japanese language or business culture. For these reasons alone, Japanese clients have not been very enthusiastic about offshoring work to India (JISA Citation2006, pp. 38–39).