Japan’s supermarkets looking to Southeast Asians for labor under government trainee scheme

Supermarket operators are increasingly hiring staff from Southeast Asia to box up prepared foods such as bento meals and salads, and to work on lines processing fresh fish.

They use a Japanese government-backed vocational training program for young workers to lure the staff and are now budgeting for foreign workers as a substantial component of the workforce. Non-Japanese “work hard and are diligent,” an official of a midsize supermarket operator said.

Another official said the cultural inflow adds vitality to the working environment.

This month, Saitama Prefecture-based Yaoko Co. will place 20 Vietnamese workers at plants that handle fresh and processed food. The company plans to hire 20 to 30 non-Japanese workers next year.

Arcs Co., which runs supermarkets in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, took on 22 people from Myanmar in April.

In July, Tokyo-based Summit Inc., a unit of major trader Sumitomo Corp., plans to place eight Vietnamese in its fresh fish and prepared food sections.

“It is difficult to attract workers especially at the fresh fish section,” a Summit official observed.

“We hope to diversify our recruiting methods,” the official said.

Under the government program, young people from developing countries come to Japan to get technical training while receiving a salary. Last year, making prepared foods was added to the list of job categories covered by the training program.

Last year, Yaoko accepted five people from China and six from Sri Lanka, who are currently working at its fresh fish and bread sections.

The Summit official said Japanese workers tend to quit far earlier, so it is helpful to have non-Japanese for a three-year stint.

An Arcs official added: “Diversity in human resources adds vitality to our workplaces.”

Industry analysts expect more supermarket operators to start using the vocational training program.