How to allure Indian IT talents to Japan

Japan desperately in need for IT engineers

(above picture https://qr.quel.jp/pv.php?b=3iSWr10)

Japan needs 800,000 IT engineers to fill the vacancy for IT talents.

Indians are the main target.

Japan is making efforts to let the country known to Indian people by sponsoring cultural events. The Japanese IT giants Rakuten and Mercari started to recruit Indian IT engineers in India.

But to no avail.

The New York Times dated Jan. 1 2023 under the title of "Japan needs Indian labor for jobs in tech industry" says those Indians once happy with its safety and cleanliness have ended up with quitting Japanese IT companies.

Why?

According to the New York Times they quitted because they felt they were less cared due to cultural differences. 

So-called in-group/out-group theory may prove this.

Japanese are high in in-group mentality  having strong cohesiveness within their group, however, they pay less care and attention to out-group people who are outside of their circle such as other company staffs or non-Japanese people.

That's how those Indian engineers feel alienated. 

The first foreign electoral office

The New York Times cited the words of Mr. Yogendra Puranik who is a success story. He has gone so far as to win the first foreign electoral office in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo.

Mr. Yogendra Puranik for electoral office https://qr.quel.jp/pv.php?b=3WxhpjH

He has been struggling to flatten the gap between Indian people and Japanese counterparts.

Mr. Puranik has helped an Indian worker to sue his boss for kicking him or his son being bullied in a Japanese school by a teacher.

He insists that providing Japanese language training and cultural instruction is more important than giving assistance for Indian cultural festivals.

Three evils

Many Indian engineers  say that problems lie in three factors.
1. Low salary
2.Exorbitantly stubborn hierarchy
3. High cultural barriers

Because there is little notes on those three issues, let me help you understand those issues.

Low salary:

Those Indians are paid fair enough to make a good living in Japan. However, they are paid by Japanese pay system with the emphasis of seniority and balance rather than performance. The Indians ended up with less salary than they expect.

Exorbitantly stubborn hierarchy:

Those Indians call it "iron-clad corporate hierarchies. This is the corporate structure which put following rules before attaining goals. Yes, bureaucracy. 

High cultural barriers:

As I wrote, Japanese tend to care less for those who are unfamiliar. In other words, they are less open to what is align to them. No wonder Indians who are new to Japan feel excluded.

How to fix the problem

I quite agree with what many Indian  engineers mean what IT industry is.

Their definition of IT industry is risk-taking and innovation.

The both idea takes involvement of human efforts and collaboration. 

How one can realize risk-taking and innovation with little human-to-human relationship.

I don't believe Japan can further promote "digitalization" unless it changes what it sticks to.

Ichiro Noro 
Professor, Seiwa University, Japan