More And More Vietnamese Laborers Flee Japan

Statistics from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare show that the number of foreign workers in Japan has increased from 1.28 million in 2017 to 1.73 million in 2021, but the growth rate has declined sharply, falling to 0.2 percent in 2021. Vietnam currently has the highest percentage of working people, but the total number is also gradually decreasing.

The report said that 10 years ago out of 100 Vietnamese who wanted to work abroad there might be 95 who wanted to go to Japan, but now there are only about half of them.

The depreciation of the yen is to blame. Today, the average monthly income of young Vietnamese working in Japan is 160,000-190,000 yen (about 8,093-9,610 yuan), while the average monthly income of those working in South Korea may be as high as 250,000 yen, and thus more Vietnamese are choosing to go to South Korea.

In addition, problems such as poor labor conditions in Japanese companies have accelerated the departure of Vietnamese laborers from Japan. A video of Vietnamese experiencing workplace harassment in Japan has gone viral, giving Japan a bad name.