Ngu Thazin wanted to leave her war-torn country for a better future. She set her sights on Japan.

于·達欣想離開飽受戰(zhàn)爭蹂躪的祖國，尋找更好的未來。她把目光投向了日本。

In Myanmar, she studied Japanese and graduated with a chemistry degree from one of her country’s most prestigious universities. Yet she gladly took a job in Japan changing diapers and bathing residents at a nursing home in a midsize city.

在緬甸，她學習了日語，并在緬甸一所極負盛名的大學獲得化學學位。然而，她卻欣然接受了在日本一家中型城市的養(yǎng)老院給老人換尿布和洗澡的工作。

“To be honest, I want to live in Japan because it is safe,” said Ms. Thazin, who hopes eventually to pass an exam that will allow her to work as a licensed caregiver. “And I want to send my family money.”

“說實話，我想在日本生活，是因為這里很安全，”達欣說。她希望最終能通過考試，成為一名持證護工。“我還想給家人寄錢?！?/b>


Japan desperately needs people like Ms. Thazin to fill jobs left open by a declining and aging population. The number of foreign workers has quadrupled since 2007, to more than two million, in a country of 125 million people. Many of these workers escaped low wages, political repression or armed conflict in their home countries.

日本迫切需要像達欣這樣的人來填補人口減少和老齡化留下的職位空缺。自2007年以來，在這個擁有1.25億人口的國家，外國勞工的數(shù)量翻了兩番，達到200多萬人。這些工人中的許多人是為了逃離本國的低工資、政治壓迫或武裝沖突。

But even as foreign employees become much more visible in Japan, working as convenience store cashiers, hotel clerks and restaurant servers, they are treated with ambivalence. Politicians remain reluctant to create pathways for foreign workers, especially those in low-skill jobs, to stay indefinitely. That may eventually cost Japan in its competition with neighbors like South Korea and Taiwan, or even places farther afield like Australia and Europe, that are also scrambling to find labor.

但是，即使在日本能看越來越多地看到外國勞工，如便利店收銀員、酒店職員和餐館服務(wù)員，對待外勞的方式仍然是模棱兩可的。政客們?nèi)匀徊辉敢鉃橥鈩趧?chuàng)造無限期居留的途徑，尤其是那些從事低技能工作的工人。這可能最終會讓日本在與韓國和臺灣（地區(qū)）等鄰近地區(qū)的競爭中付出代價，甚至在與澳大利亞和歐洲等更遠地區(qū)的競爭中也是如此，這些地方也在爭相尋找勞動力。

The political resistance to immigration in long-insular Japan, as well as a public that is sometimes wary of integrating newcomers, has led to a nebulous legal and support system that makes it difficult for foreigners to put down roots. Foreign-born workers are paid on average about 30 percent less than their Japanese counterparts, according to government data. Fearful of losing their right to stay in Japan, workers often have precarious relationships with their employers, and career advancement can be elusive.

在長期封閉的日本，政治上對移民的抵制，以及公眾有時對正在融入的新移民的警惕，導致了一個模糊的法律和支持體系，使外國人難以扎根。根據(jù)政府數(shù)據(jù)，外國出生的工人的工資平均比日本同行低30%左右。由于擔心失去留在日本的權(quán)利，工人與雇主的關(guān)系往往不穩(wěn)定，職業(yè)前景不明。

Japan’s policies are designed for “people to work in Japan for preferably a short period of time,” said Yang Liu, a fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo. “If the system continues as it is, the probability that foreign workers will stop coming has become very high.”

日本的政策是為“最好在日本只是短期工作的人”設(shè)計的，東京經(jīng)濟、貿(mào)易和工業(yè)研究所研究員楊柳（音）說?！叭绻@種制度繼續(xù)下去，外勞很可能會不再來這里?！?/b>

In 2018, the government passed a law authorizing a sharp increase in the number of low-skilled “guest laborers” allowed into the country. Earlier this year, the government committed to more than doubling the number of such workers over the next five years, to 820,000. It also revised a technical internship program that employers had used as a source of cheap labor and that workers and labor activists had criticized as fostering abuses.

2018年，政府通過了一項法律，授權(quán)大幅增加允許進入該國的低技能“客籍勞工”數(shù)量。今年早些時候，政府承諾在未來五年內(nèi)將這類工人的數(shù)量增加一倍以上，達到82萬人。政府還修改了一項技術(shù)實習計劃，該計劃曾被雇主用來獲取廉價勞動力，也曾被工人和勞工活動人士批評是在助長虐待行為。
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Still, politicians are far from flinging open the country’s borders. Japan has yet to experience the kind of significant migration that has convulsed Europe or the United States. The total number of foreign-born residents in Japan — including nonworking spouses and children — is 3.4 million, less than 3 percent of the population. The percentage in Germany and the United States, for instance, is close to five times that.

盡管如此，政客們還遠未放開邊境。日本還沒有經(jīng)歷過震撼歐洲或美國的那種大規(guī)模移民潮。日本的外國出生居民總數(shù)（包括不工作的配偶和子女）為340萬，不到總?cè)丝诘?%。在德國和美國，這一比例將近五倍于此。

Japan has tightened some rules even as it has loosened others. This spring, the governing Liberal Democratic Party pushed through a revision to Japan’s immigration law that would allow permanent residency to be revoked if a person fails to pay taxes. Critics warned that the policy could make it easier to withdraw residency status for more minor infractions, such as failing to show a police officer an identification card upon request.

日本在放松其他規(guī)定的同時也收緊了一些規(guī)定。今年春天，執(zhí)政的自民黨推動通過了對日本移民法的修訂，如果一個人不納稅，將被取消永久居留權(quán)。批評人士警告，這項政策可能會使人更容易因更輕微的違規(guī)行為（如未應(yīng)警察要求出示身份證）而被取消居留身份。

Such a threat “robs permanent residents of their sense of security” and “will undoubtedly encourage discrimination and prejudice,” Michihiro Ishibashi, a member of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said during a parliamentary discussion.

日本反對黨立憲民主黨成員石橋道弘在一次議會討論中表示，這樣的威脅“剝奪了永久居民的安全感”，“無疑會助長歧視和偏見?！?/b>
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In a separate parliamentary committee, Ryuji Koizumi, the justice minister, said the revision was intended to “realize a society where we can coexist with foreigners,” by making sure they “abide by the minimum rules necessary for living in Japan.”

在另一個議會委員會上，法務(wù)大臣小泉龍司表示，修訂的目的是通過確保外國人“遵守在日本生活所需的最低規(guī)則”，“實現(xiàn)一個我們可以同外國人共存的社會?！?/b>

Long before foreigners can obtain permanent residency, they must navigate labyrinthine visa requirements, including language and skills tests. Unlike in Germany, where the government offers new foreign residents up to 400 hours of language courses at a subsidized rate of just over $2 per lesson, Japan has no organized language training for foreign workers.

外國人在獲得永久居留權(quán)之前必須通過復雜的簽證要求，包括語言和技能測試。在德國，政府為新的外國居民提供400小時的語言課程，每節(jié)課補貼后的價格略高于兩美元。與德國不同，日本沒有沒有為外勞提供有組織的語言培訓。

While politicians say the country should do a better job of teaching Japanese, “they are not yet ready to go as far as pouring money into this from taxes,” said Toshinori Kawaguchi, director of the foreign workers affairs division at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

盡管政界人士表示，日本應(yīng)該在日語教學方面做得更好，但“他們還沒有準備好從稅收中拿出大筆資金投入到這里”，厚生勞動省外籍勞工事務(wù)部門負責人川口俊德說。
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That leaves individual municipalities and employers to decide whether and how often to provide language training. The nursing home operator that employs Ms. Thazin in Maebashi, the capital of Gunma Prefecture in central Japan, offers some of its caregivers one day of group Japanese lessons, as well as one more 45-minute lesson, each month. Workers who prepare meals receive just one 45-minute lesson a month.

這就需要各個城市當局和雇主決定是否提供語言培訓，以及多久培訓一次。在日本中部群馬縣的首府前橋市，雇用達欣的養(yǎng)老院運營商每月為一些護工提供一天的集體日語課，以及另外一次45分鐘的課程。做飯的工人每月只接受一次45分鐘的課程。

Akira Higuchi, the president of the company, Hotaka Kai, said he gives workers an incentive to study Japanese on their own. Those who pass the second-highest level of a government Japanese language proficiency test, he said, “will be treated the same as Japanese people, with the same salary and bonuses.”

這家名為武尊會的公司的董事長樋口明表示，他鼓勵員工自學日語。他說，那些通過政府日語能力測試第二級水平的人，“將得到和日本人一樣的待遇，同樣的工資和獎金?！?/b>

Particularly outside the largest cities, foreigners who don’t speak Japanese can struggle to communicate with local governments or schools. In health emergencies, few hospital workers will speak languages other than Japanese.

特別是在大城市之外，不會說日語的外國人很難與當?shù)卣驅(qū)W校溝通。遇到醫(yī)療緊急情況時，很少有醫(yī)院工作人員會說日語以外的語言。
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Hotaka Kai has taken other measures to support its staff, including housing newcomers in subsidized corporate apartments and offering skills training.

武尊會還采取了其他措施來支持員工，包括將新員工安置在有補貼的企業(yè)公寓里，并提供技能培訓。

A dormitory kitchen shared by 33 women ranging in age from 18 to 31 offers a glimpse of the heritages that mingle together. Peeking out from plastic bins labeled with the residents’ names were sachets of Ladaku merica bubuk (an Indonesian white pepper powder) and packets of thit kho seasoning for making Vietnamese braised pork with eggs.

在一個由33名年齡從18歲到31歲的女性共用的宿舍廚房，我們可以窺見不同文化的交融。貼著居民名字的塑料箱里，堆滿一袋袋Ladaku merica bubuk（一種印度尼西亞白胡椒粉）和一袋袋用來制作越南紅燒肉的thit kho調(diào)味料。

Across Gunma Prefecture, the reliance on foreign workers is unmistakable. In Oigami Onsen, a rundown mountainside village where many restaurants, shops and hotels are shuttered, half of the 20 full-time workers at Ginshotei Awashima, a traditional Japanese hot springs inn, are originally from Myanmar, Nepal or Vietnam.

在群馬縣，對外勞的依賴是顯而易見的。在破敗的山腰村莊大神溫泉，許多餐館、商店和酒店都關(guān)門了。在日本傳統(tǒng)溫泉旅館淡島吟松亭，20名全職員工中有一半來自緬甸、尼泊爾或越南。

With the inn’s deeply rural location, “there are no more Japanese people who want to work here,” said Wataru Tsutani, the owner.

由于客棧地處鄉(xiāng)村，“已經(jīng)找不到愿意在這里工作的日本人，”店主津谷度（音）說。

Several of its foreign workers have educational backgrounds that would seem to qualify them for more than menial work. A 32-year-old with a degree in physics from a university in Myanmar serves food in the inn’s dining rooms. A 27-year-old who studied Japanese culture at a university in Vietnam is stationed at the reception desk. A 27-year-old Nepali who was studying agricultural history at a university in Ukraine before the Russian invasion now washes dishes and lays out futon, Japanese-style bedding, in guest rooms.

旅店幾名外籍員工的教育背景似乎使他們有資格從事比體力勞動更重要的工作。一名擁有緬甸一所大學物理學學位的32歲男子在酒店的餐廳上菜。一個27歲、在越南某大學學習日本文化的人在前臺工作。一名27歲的尼泊爾人在俄羅斯入侵前曾在烏克蘭的一所大學學習農(nóng)業(yè)歷史，現(xiàn)在他在洗盤子，給客房鋪上布團。

Most of the customers at Ginshotei Awashima are Japanese. Sakae Yoshizawa, 58, who had come for an overnight stay with her husband and was enjoying a cup of tea in the lobby before checking out, said she was impressed by the service. “Their Japanese is very good, and I have a good feeling about them,” she said. Ms. Yoshizawa said she works with foreign-born colleagues at a newspaper delivery service.

淡島吟松亭的大多數(shù)顧客都是日本人。58歲的吉澤榮（音）和丈夫來這里過夜，結(jié)賬前正在大堂喝著茶。她說，這里的服務(wù)給她留下了深刻印象。“他們的日語非常好，我對他們感覺很好，”她說。吉澤說，她在一家送報公司與外國出生的同事一起工作。

Ngun Nei Par, the inn’s general manager, graduated from a university in Myanmar with a degree in geography. She hopes that the Japanese government will smooth a path toward citizenship that would allow her to bring the rest of her family to Japan someday.

這家酒店的總經(jīng)理銀內(nèi)帕畢業(yè)于緬甸一所大學，擁有地理學位。她希望日本政府能排除外籍人士獲得公民身份的障礙，讓她有一天能把其他家人帶到日本。

Mr. Tsutani, the owner, said that a public that had not caught up with reality might obxt if too many foreigners obtained citizenship.

店主津谷說，如果太多外國人獲得公民身份，還沒跟上現(xiàn)實的公眾可能會反對。

“I hear a lot that Japan is a ‘unique country,’” Mr. Tsutani said. Ultimately, “there is no need to make it that difficult” for foreigners to stay in Japan, he said. “We want workers.”

“我聽到很多人說，日本是一個‘獨特的國家’，”津谷說。最終，“沒有必要讓”外國人留在日本“變得那么困難”，他說?！拔覀冃枰と恕！?br />
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