Japan loses its attraction for Chinese interns

Fewer Chinese interns are willing to work in Japan, with tens of thousands returning to China.

As China's economy booms and the Japanese yen continues to depreciate, the number of Chinese technology interns working in Japan has dropped by 50,000 over the last six years.

In 2008, about 76 percent, or 146,000, of the 190,000 interns working in Japan were Chinese. By the end of 2014, only about 100,000 Chinese interns remained in Japan, making up 59 percent of the 190,000 interns in the country.

Japan has lost much of its attraction, said a labor agent. Fewer people want to work there as the working conditions and payment are unsatisfactory, and also because earthquakes are frequent.

As the number of Chinese interns in Japan drops, more Vietnamese are taking their places. Over the five years leading to the end of 2014, the number of Vietnamese interns in Japan rose 2.5 times to 34,000.

Due to an aging population, Japan faces a critical labor shortage, especially in agriculture and aquaculture. In 1993, Japan legalized the introduction of young foreign laborers, who were expected to work long hours in humble conditions.