Japan: A Case in point

A lot is being said about the dependence on the United States for the remit that most developing countries receive from their immigrants settled there. Though it is true that United States is the largest foreign aid donor, it is often overlooked that some other countries too have been playing a huge role in this direction. Japan, a G8 country is a case in point. It comes second to the United States in offering foreign aid and has been a chief contributor for the past several years.

Over the years, Japan has emerged as a chief source of finance and several projects have been in the pipeline to help the migrant workers to use the remittances for starting their own businesses back home. Labour shortage has been one of the chief reasons behind the influx of a large number of unskilled labourers in the country which is one of the most industrialised nations in the world. Consequently, a lot of migrants now prefer Japan as their place of work. Statistics also show that Japan has played an important role in the development of some of the third world countries which are dependant on the remittances sent by the overseas workers. According to the Philippines Central Bank Filipino workers in Japan remitted $ 413 million in 2003, making them the largest source after Filipinos in the US and the Saudi Arabia.

Today, people from as distant countries as Peru and Chile are choosing Japan as their preferred place of work. With the US economy going through a rough patch, the Asian upsurge is indeed a possibility.