Abstract:
The study is a policy analysis on the amended Immigration Control and Refugee
Recognition Act of 2004 and its implications and prospects on Philippine-Japan Relations
and on Filipino overseas workers in Japan. It seeks to answer if the implementation of the
amended Japan Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 2005 was beneficial
for Philippine-Japanese relation, particularly in terms of overseas Filipino employment? It
explored Japan’s immigration laws and policies as the fundamental law for accepting
foreign workers in the country, and the reasons for the amendments. Likewise, it showed
the Philippines’ overseas employment policy in the context of Japan as a receiving country
of Filipino workers and the implications of Japan's amendments to its immigration law to
the flow of Filipino workers, particularly entertainers, to the country.
The rational model of foreign policy decision-making, which maintains that
national interests of States play the central role in law and policy formulation of individual
governments, was used in the analysis of Japan’s changes in its immigration policy and the
subsequent reactions and actions of the Philippine government. The paper is a qualitative
study that employed the critical science approach. Content analysis of different research
materials, Key Informant Interviews with different stake holders, and a Focus Group
Discussion among Filipino workers who have worked in the Japan were the main tools
utilized. Recommendations on how to best forward both Japan and Philippine interests
with regards to Japan’s immigration problems and Philippines’ overseas workers in the
country were also given at the end of the paper.
