About 80% of Vietnamese, Cambodian trainees in Japan owe debt

Foreign 'technical intern' workers tend to borrow money to pay to local agents: survey

20220726 general image of foreign workers

More than half of foreign technical trainees surveyed by the Japanese government recently said they borrowed money to come to Japan, taking on an average of nearly $4,000 in debt.

EUGENE LANG, Nikkei staff writer

July 28, 2022 11:04 JST

TOKYO -- More than half the foreign technical trainees in a recent survey took on an average of 540,000 yen ($3,950) in debt to come to Japan, with around 80% of trainees from Vietnam and Cambodia carrying such debts.

The survey of around 2,100 technical trainees was conducted by Japan's Immigration Services Agency. It took place between December 2021 and April 2022.