Taki Kensetsu Kogyo Co Ltd, a construction company based in Chitose City, Hokkaido, is making significant strides in addressing Japan's labor shortage through its commitment to hiring foreign workers. With annual sales of ¥500 million JPY (approximately $4.5 million USD), the company currently employs 67 staff members, including 27 foreign nationals from countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka [bce51922].
Under the leadership of President Yuichi Taki, who took charge in 2015, Taki Kensetsu began hiring foreign workers in 2016 as part of a strategy to mitigate the impacts of Japan's aging population and declining workforce [bce51922]. The company plans to expand its workforce further by hiring 24 additional foreign employees from Peru, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, and Uzbekistan starting in October 2024 [bce51922].
To facilitate the integration of foreign workers, Taki Kensetsu has developed two multilingual manuals aimed at assisting these employees in navigating their roles and responsibilities within the company [bce51922]. President Taki emphasizes the importance of Japanese employees understanding ethnic dynamics, fostering a more inclusive and collaborative work environment. This approach is crucial as Japan grapples with its immigration policies and the need to improve working conditions for foreign nationals [bce51922].
In a broader context, Lekh Juneja, the foreign-born CEO of Kameda Seika, has also highlighted the urgent need for Japan to embrace immigration to revitalize its economy. Juneja, who moved to Japan in 1984, warns that Japan has lost its competitive edge since the 1980s and projects that the population could drop by a third in the next 50 years. He argues that Japan needs to triple its foreign workforce to 6.88 million by 2040 to sustain economic growth [44fa246d].
Juneja points out the cultural barriers that exist in hiring foreign talent and notes the rarity of foreign-born CEOs in Japan, where the corporate landscape remains predominantly male, with only 13 female CEOs among 1,600 top firms [44fa246d]. The experiences of foreign workers like Rahaman from Bangladesh and Ruwan from Sri Lanka at Taki Kensetsu illustrate the personal and professional growth opportunities available to them, showcasing how businesses can effectively address labor shortages while promoting multiculturalism and inclusivity in the workplace [bce51922]. Taki Kensetsu's model, alongside Juneja's insights, underscores the potential for a more integrated approach to immigration that could benefit both the economy and the workforce in Japan [44fa246d].