India can bridge IT staff shortage in Japan’

India can bridge IT staff shortage in Japan’

Context:

• Japan is facing a shortage of information technology professionals due to an ageing population and falling birth rate.
• India can fill the gap with its huge talent pool, executive vice-president of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), said.

IT professionals in Japan:

• There are about 920,000 IT professionals in Japan.
• There is an immediate demand for more than 200,000 professionals
•  The shortage is likely to touch 800,000 by 2030.
• In 2016, there were 5,549 certified highly skilled foreign professionals registered in Japan.
• Of this 3,621 professionals were from China, 290 from the U.S. and 266 from India.

Easing of rules for issuance of green card:

• Japan eased rules for issuance of green card and permanent residency status for highly skilled professionals in April last year.
• The new norms shortened the required period for permanent residency to one year from five years earlier.

Easier to learn Japanese language for China:

• All the top Indian professionals are eager to go to the U.S.
• China is the most populous nation and it is easier for a Chinese to learn the Japanese language.
• It is also closer to Japan.
• Also, about 30,000 Japanese firms operate in China, much more than in U.S.
• In India 1,369 companies from Japan have set up base while only 71 Indian companies operate in Japan.

Japanese companies operating in India:

• Of the total number of Japanese companies operating in India, 220 are out of Maharashtra, 197 in Tamil Nadu and 162 in the National Capital Region.

U.S. new policy:

• The U.S. administration last month imposed curbs on H-1B visas affecting companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro, which rely on the visas to do work for American firms.
• As per the new U.S. policy, companies will have to prove that its H-1B employee at a third-party site has specific and non-qualifying speculative assignments in a speciality occupation.
• Now on, H-1B visas would be valid only for the period for which the employee has work at a third-party site.
• Earlier, it was valid for three years at a time and the move came ahead of H-1B visa filing which starts on April 2.

Japan as a third largest investor for India:

• Japan has set an inward foreign investment target of $330 billion by 2020.
• Japan has become the third-largest investor for India after Mauritius and Singapore.
• Companies such as Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi have already initiated the process of establishing an R&D centre in India.
• Japan also eased rules for Indian travellers and from January this year, applicants do not require to submit their employment certificate and letters of explanation for multiple-entry visas.
• The number of documents to be submitted has been cut to three.