Symposium on Movement of Natural Persons (Overview)

March 2003

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan organized the "Symposium on Movement of Natural Persons" on March 19, 2003 at Mita Kaigisho in Tokyo.

2. More than 200 people took part in the Symposium, where presentations and discussions were made. Japanese participants included Mr. Tetsuro YANO, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs; government officials; people from business community viz. various types of Japanese companies including those have ever accepted foreign labor; and academia. For international perspective, people from WTO, APEC, European Commission and Indian business community were invited and a number of Ambassadors to Japan and Asian government officials participated in. This large number of participants did show the high level of attention to this Symposium.

3. In this Symposium, active and constructive discussions were held based on the first-hand knowledge and hands-on experiences regarding movement of natural persons. Participants exchanged information and their views on actions and measures and challenges to mobilize and facilitate acceptance of skilled technical experts form abroad from a wide-ranging perspective. Those experiences in international organizations, international cooperation and each region and country and requests of Japanese companies were shared at the Symposium.

4. The view was shared that:

• Continuous efforts to facilitate movement of natural persons are imperative.
• "Movement of natural persons" should not be seen as a North-South problem but is surely beneficial to everyone and the discussion on this issue at WTO should be promoted.
• Companies facing severe competition under globalization are eager for enhanced mobility of skilled labor and the Japanese government needs to actively make efforts on it including possible revise of the system. In this respect, Japan's participation in APEC Business Travel Card in April 2003 is welcomed and issue of mutual recognition of professional qualifications is important.
• Regarding so-called unskilled labor, it is necessary to further deepen discussions on this issue inclusive of its social implications, recognizing the fact that about 500 thousand workers including so-called illegal workers and the Japanese ancestry are already in Japan as well as the strong demand from Asian developing countries to open Japan's labor market. In this context, comparison of experiences and policies between Japan's and Europe's, both of which are facing aging society with fewer children should be developed.

5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will reflect the valuable outcome of this Symposium in promotion of cooperation on this issue bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally and in the future policy-making.