Japanese Technical Intern Training Program: Problems and Recommendations

Abstract

Labor export is acknowledged as a socio-economic development strategy of Vietnam. Since 2017, the number of Vietnamese intern trainees in Japan has been rapidly increasing, making Vietnam the top country that sends interns to Japan. The increase benefits both countries. However, in addition to the benefits, a number of problems related to the implementation of the program are remaining, particularly the increasing number of overstaying of Vietnamese trainnees. Previously, several research has examined the reasons of this phenomenon but mainly focused on economic aspects. This paper aims at exploring the causes of this phenomenon by examining the ambiguity of the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). The paper firstly introduce the primary goals and implementation of the TITPcontributes to the overstaying of Vietnamese interns. Secondly, the paper examines the differences between the TITP's goals and its implementation as well as how the inconsistencies contribute to the illegal stay of Vietnamese intern trainees. Finally, the paper will propose some practical solutions to minimize the flee and illegal stay of Vietnamese trainees in Japan hence, improving the effectiveness of this program.