Around a quarter of responding female foreign trainees in Japan said they were told to quit their job and return to their home country if they became pregnant, a survey by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan said Friday.
The questionnaire is the first such conducted by the government focused on inappropriate treatment regarding pregnancy and childbirths. It followed revelations that interns had been told by the organization responsible for their work placement that they should return home if pregnant, often leading to tragic cases.
In 2020 in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, a Vietnamese trainee, who feared being dismissed or compelled to return home, gave birth to stillborn twins and was charged with abandoning the bodies. She was given a suspended sentence but is appealing it to the Supreme Court.
The survey, targeting 650 trainees and carried out between August and November, showed that 26.5 percent of the interns were told they would have to quit their job and return home in the event of getting pregnant.
In 73.8 percent of the cases, the remarks were made by the organization that arranged the job for the intern, in 14.9 percent by the supervising organizations that connect the trainees with the host entities and in 11.3 percent by the companies the interns worked for.
A total of 5.2 percent of the respondents also said they signed documents saying they would quit their job if pregnant. Seventy percent of them inked such contracts with the organization arranging the work placement.
Foreign trainees who work under the government-sponsored technical internship program are covered by the equal employment opportunity law, which bans the unfair treatment of women due to marriage, pregnancy or childbirth.
But 25.8 percent of the respondents said they were unaware of the law as they had not received any explanation about it.
Only 30 to 40 percent knew that they could take leave for childbirth and could resume their internship after giving birth in their home countries.
Following the outcome of the survey, the immigration agency, together with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, issued notices to around 3,600 supervising organizations across Japan, saying "it is utterly unacceptable" to compel interns to quit their job or return to their home countries if pregnant.
They also urged the entities to give thorough explanations to the interns about legal protection for pregnant female workers.
The survey results shed light on the "insufficient" recognition among the supervising organizations regarding treatment of female trainees in times of pregnancy, an agency official said.
The agency will consider administrative action if an organization is found to have made inappropriate remarks to the trainees, the official said.
Between November 2017 and December 2020, a total of 637 foreign trainees suspended their internship program due to pregnancy and childbirth, according to the agency.
Japan established the technical internship program in 1993 to transfer knowledge and skills to developing countries but it has faced criticism at home and abroad over perceptions it is used as a cover for companies to import cheap labor.
Related coverage:
Japan sets up panel to review foreign trainee program
Japan gov't investigating mistreatment of pregnant foreign trainees
FOCUS: Pregnant trainee in Japan feared being forced to return to Vietnam
