Next April 2010, a new law in Japan comes into effect which only affects foreigners living in Japan. Renewal of visa applications will be tied to having enrolled in the National Health Scheme, for long time stayers, such as those married to a Japanese spouse, or foreigners with the right to live in Japan, such as Brazilians of Japanese descend.
According to the new law, foreigners not enrolled in the National Health Scheme will not have their visa's renewed. This will cause a number of serious problems for many within the foreign community. So foreigners choose to cover their health needs by private insurance because they have greater needs than what is covered by the National Health Scheme, such as covering the travel expenses of family to fly to Japan if they become seriously ill. If they become deceased, the cost of transporting the body back to their countries of origin.
Others, have no private health insurance and are not enrolled in the National Health Scheme, like many Brazilians who tend to work in low paid jobs and are tricked by their employers into not joining because very employer also makes a contribution for every employee.
The law which was introduced by the previous LDP government was short sighted on these important points when it voted the law in. Kobe City, with a large foreign community are seeking clarification on the law from the new Hatoyama government.
Kobe City Goes to Bat for Free Choice Foundation - Demands Hatoyama Government Clarify New Immigration Guideline
Kobe (PRWEB) October 20, 2009 -- The City Assembly of Kobe, Japan has sent an official communiqué to the National Government seeking clarification about the country's new Immigration guidelines. The guidelines, set to go into effect in April 2010, mandate that all foreign residents who must be enrolled in Japan's social health insurance program show proof of such enrollment as a prerequisite for approval of their visa renewal applications.
The new legislation has sparked no small stir among non-Japanese living in Japan, and debate over the issue continues to grow daily. It has even spawned the formation of the Free Choice Foundation, a grassroots movement whose aim is to lobby the Japanese government for foreigners' right to choose the type of health care they participate in - whether that be a public or private plan.
Led by Chairman Kenji Yoshida, the City Assembly sent the communiqué to Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the President of the House of Councilors, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. The communication strongly urges that Tokyo explain and clarify the new guidelines as well as the criteria that will be used by Immigration officials in determining whether to renew foreigners' visas.
Kobe questions the ambiguity of the guidelines should a foreigner seeking visa renewal not be enrolled in the social health insurance system. It also seeks clarity on situations in which a foreign applicant owns private health insurance in lieu of the required social insurance. The communiqué points out that many foreign residents prefer to carry private insurance because of the additional benefits it provides - benefits that non-Japanese typically find very important and necessary, such as payment for emergency family reunion expenses in the event of serious illness or injury and repatriation of remains to the home country in the event of death. Social health insurance provides no coverage for these and other medical expenses that foreign residents typically face.
The public insurance plans were designed with the Japanese in mind and non-Japanese often find it does not fit their expatriate needs as well as private or international insurance plans.
Kobe has a long and distinguished history in foreign relations. With the opening of its port to the rest of the world a century-and-a-half ago, it has a well-known reputation as an 'international' city. The foreign community is an integral and important part of the city's cultural and economic makeup. Boasting foreign settlements and architecture dating from the 19th century, the city is proud of its heritage of openness to foreigners. Today, Kobe's Port Island is home to a large biotechnology zone, and the city actively seeks foreign researchers to work there.
During World War II, Chiune Sugihara, the heroic Japanese diplomat, and his wife Yukiko, provided transit visas to more than 6,000 Jewish refugees to escape Lithuania and Nazi atrocities. As a result, many of the refugees settled in Kobe where they joined other Jews already residing in the city. Although Japan was allied with Germany during the war, the Jewish foreigners were well treated and protected from the holocaust.
Today, Kobe City is home to a Jewish Synagogue and a Mosque, and also has many other religious congregations.
"This is not the first time for Kobe to be at odds over Japan's immigration policy. The city had previously asked the National Government to provide 5-year visas for biotech researchers residing and working there instead of the typical 1-year visas.
Other Releases by this Member
- Free Choice to Petition Japanese Government for Right to Choose Private Health Insurance in Lieu of Japan's Universal Health Care 2009-09-01
- Free Choice Launches Website in Japan to Lobby with Tokyo on Japanese Health Care Issues 2009-07-16
- Newly Launched Free Choice Foundation Attempts Rescue of Japan's Private Heath Care Network 2009-07-01
Source:PR Web.
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