Global Migration and Japan’s Framework for Ethical Recruitment
Keywords:
ethical recruitment, fair migration, Japan, foreign workerAbstract
The research aims to analyse Japan’s experience towards fair migration and ethical recruitment in the context of global migration challenges. The United Nations has implemented a variety of global initiatives that acknowledge the significance of fair migration in the prevention of debt bondage, exploitation, and forced labour. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is crucial for the effective management of global migration. SDG 10 emphasises the reduction of disparities between and within nations, and Target 10.7 is specifically designed to facilitate responsible, safe, and orderly migration. One of the indicators of safe migration is the payment of recruitment costs by employers rather than foreign labourers (Indicator 10.7.1). This paper examines the programmes of the Japanese government, remediation of recruitment fees by companies in Japan, and bilateral efforts by JICA in safeguarding migrant rights and achieving zero-cost migration. A new program called Ikusei Shūrō (Training and Employment) will be introduced to address issues of ethical recruitment in transnational labour migration, along with initiatives by socially responsible companies. The findings suggest that Ikusei Shūrō program includes measures to improve conditions for ethical recruitment, but its actual implementation is still awaited. In addition, business communities, such as Responsible Business Alliance（RBA）member companies, have begun taking concrete steps toward the ethical recruitment of migrant workers — including the prohibition of worker-paid recruitment fees — yet full implementation throughout the lower tiers of the industrial supply chain remains to be achieved.
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