Search

Around 13,500 Allied civilians were interned by Japan throughout China during the Second World War. This article explores how these Allied internees were rescued after the war. It finds that the Allied and Japanese governments made painstaking efforts to make the rescue mission a success. The complex military, diplomatic, and political context in China around the end of the war caused numerous difficulties for the rescue mission. This context also facilitated the mission to a certain degree by creating the conditions for the Allied internees to become increasingly valuable, which, in turn motivated the Allied and Japanese governments to work actively towards their relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of globalization, the international community has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of low-skilled workers migrating from developing countries to industrial countries. However, there remain competing approaches to the governance of lowskilled labor migration; that is, the economic theory and the rights-based approach. By utilizing the labor migration between Vietnam and Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), this article reveals the limitations of these two approaches in governing the migration of low-skilled workers. Moreover, through examining the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Technical Intern Training Program signed by the Vietnamese and Japanese governments in 2017 and its contribution to the TITP, this article suggests that to regulate labor migration properly, it is essential to uphold the rights-based approach and consider labor migration as a transnational issue that should be addressed at the international level; that is, through the bilateral or multilateral instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The economic struggles faced by many technical intern trainees in Japan include the necessity to remit money to their home country, debts owed to intermediaries facilitating their arrival, and reduced working hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, there is concern that the pandemic may contribute to mental instability resulting from the significant life changes experienced by the trainees. This study examined the experience of material deprivation among Vietnamese intern trainees in Japan and explored the correlation between material deprivation and suicidal ideation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between September and October 2021, involving 310 Vietnamese technical intern trainees. Data from 200 participants were analyzed. The questionnaire included gender, age, duration of residence in Japan, proficiency in the Japanese language, income changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, material deprivation status, and suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was assessed using the ninth item of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between material deprivation items and suicidal ideation. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 26.0 ± 5.1 years, with 62.0% (n = 124) being male. Among the material deprivation items, 74.0% (n = 148) reported food deprivation, 59.0% (n = 118) reported cellphone bill deprivation, and 55.0% (n = 110) reported medical expense deprivation. Suicidal ideation was reported by 23.0% (n = 46) of the respondents. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was associated with age (p = 0.031, odds ratio [OR] = 0.889, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.799-0.990), deprivation of food expenses (p = 0.003, OR = 3.897, 95% CI = 1.597-9.511), and deprivation of cellphone usage (p = 0.021, OR = 3.671, 95% CI = 1.217-11.075). Conclusion: Vietnamese technical intern trainees in Japan faced various forms of material deprivation, which correlated with a high prevalence of significant psychological issues. Suicidal ideation was influenced by factors such as age, deprivation of food expenses, and inability to pay cellphone bills. The experience of material deprivation could have intensified the mental health challenges faced by Vietnamese trainees, particularly in the demanding circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to understand the overseas business expansion of a Japanese SME that is facilitated by strategic management of technical interns (TIs), a type of foreign migrant labor in Japan. We challenge the current prejudices and narrow view on the role of TIs by introducing a unique case wherein a rural SME utilized TIs as strategic human resources. Furthermore, we highlighted the positive influence of TIs on the gradual insiderization in foreign markets and development of new business opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study of the interactions between American interns and Japanese working in Japanese organizations in Japan, the influence of culturally different expectations, perceptions and meanings of time was explored. Through the interviews with interns and their Japanese co-workers and supervisors, five aspects of time were examined: (1) time and expectations; (2) time required for adaptation and productivity; (3) shared space and time, and meaning of socialization; (4) feedback and insecurity; and (5) short term and long-term vision. Through interviews conducted over a three year period, from predeparture throughout the 6-24 month internship period and at its conclusion, the experiences of 19 US interns working in 18 organizations along with 36 of their Japanese supervisors and co-workers were studied. Interns and supervisors differed greatly in their estimates of time needed for intern acceptance. US interns initially described too much idle time, uncertainty about when their workday ended, and anxiety related to the open, exposed, office and laboratory workspaces. Most disturbing to interns was what they saw as a lack of timely and explicit feedback from their supervisors; supervisors felt that they had provided continuous feedback and described a long-term vision for appraising the internship experience, even well after the intern had departed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We encountered an outbreak of paragonimiasis among Cambodian technical intern trainees (TITs) at a food-processing factory in Fukuoka, Japan. The patients were 20–28 years old, seven females and two males, who had been in Japan for one to four years. All of them had consumed raw or undercooked Japanese mitten crab they purchased at a local grocery store near their training place. CT images showed multiple lesions not only in the lungs but in the extrapulmonary organs as well, such as subcutaneous tissues, abdominal muscles, and mesentery, in most of the patients. Their medical records indicated that all of them acquired infection in Japan, not in Cambodia. Diagnosis was made serologically and the patients were treated with praziquantel successfully. Foreign workers and TITs are increasing in Japan so rapidly, that food borne-infections, including paragonimiasis, should be considered in people from developing countries who have exotic dietary habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A uniform certified basic training program for interns started in Japan in 2004. Following this change, more interns chose to train in community settings, including in rural areas. Patients' experiences of and attitudes toward interns' practice might vary across communities. To examine the geographic and demographic variations linked to the new training system, a nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted and analyzed., Methods: Two years after the start of the new certified basic program, 2400 adults were randomly selected from all areas of Japan. Those who participated were asked about their experiences of and attitudes toward interns' practice. The data were used to compare differences in geographic areas and by demographic factors., Results: A total of 1109 (46%) people participated in the study. Of these, 10% (114/1109) had been treated by interns. In total, 37% (410/1084) of respondents were prepared to accept treatment from interns. Those with personal experience of receiving treatment from an intern were significantly more likely to be comfortable with the idea than those who had no personal experience (55%, p<0.001). This acceptance level did not vary by region or population (between urban and rural areas). People who were comfortable with interns providing treatment, and who had personal experience of care provision by interns (they or a family member had done so) were more likely to understand the importance of interns being able to practice as part of their clinical training (92% (p<0.001) vs 76% (p=0.006)). They were also more likely to believe that interns should be able to receive training at smaller hospitals (76% (p<0.001) vs 77% (p=0.02))., Conclusions: Acceptance by patients of interns' practice was positively associated with experience of care provision by interns. However, there was no significant difference of acceptance among geographic conditions, and among the size of population. Community-based medical education could be implemented and developed independent of geographic and demographic elements in Japan.