TOMAKOMAI, Hokkaido–Minoru Hatanaka, operator of a conveyor-belt sushi chain, knew zilch about how to run a Japanese language school.
But he was adamant that it offered the best solution to twin crises facing the local restaurant industry: a chronic labor shortage and declining sustainability.
Hatanaka, president of Foodsworks Hisae Corp., had a vision: to see foreign nationals acquire Japanese language and business skills at a Japanese language school he would run so they settle in Japan with long-term visa status.
In this way, they could help underpin the struggling local region.
Hisae Japanese Language School in Tomakomai opened in April 2023 with that goal.
“Population growth is the driver of our business,” Hatanaka said. “Although city dwellers are being encouraged to relocate to the countryside (to address the depopulation of rural areas), it potentially will be a zero-sum game in the end, leaving local governments fighting for a slice of the pie.”
But if more foreign workers settle in Japan, “it could slow the pace of decline in population and make our restaurant business sustainable,” he said.
Currently, 27 students are enrolled at the school near JR Tomakomai Station in this southern Hokkaido coastal city where Hatanaka’s company is based.
The number of enrollees is expected to rise to 41 in October, when the new school term starts.
Students can choose from one- to two-year courses, including an 18-month program, for those who intend to acquire a specified skilled worker I category visa that will allow them to work in the restaurant industry.
With this visa, holders can stay for up to five years.
They can later transition to a specified skilled worker II visa that will enable them to renew their status without any restrictions.
Hisae school offers dormitory accommodation and provides support in the job-hunting quest, including positions outside Hatanaka’s company, which operates the Clipper and Syunraku outlets.
Kalsha Madhushani Weerasinghe, a Sri Lankan who completed her 18-month course in March, is one of three graduates who began working at Foodsworks Hisae.
“I came to Japan to work at a restaurant in Japan,” Weerasinghe, 28, said as she worked a shift at a Syunraku shop. “I hope to learn a lot of things.”
NOTHING BUT PRAISE
Hatanaka, 45, has had only good experiences with foreign nationals.
His company pivoted to international recruitment 10 years ago as declining interest from Japanese job seekers made hiring Japanese staff difficult.
Foreign staff at his outlets have won numerous plaudits and repeatedly captured the top spot in the “shining staff” category in customer surveys, Hatanaka said.
Even if their Japanese skills are poor, he said they work hard with a smile and are hungry to learn.
Hatanaka figured the future of the industry could hinge on foreign workers.
He grew convinced that Tomakomai needed a Japanese language school to pave the way for foreigners to acquire language and professional skills.
While he is adept at operating a sushi chain, running a Japanese language school was another thing altogether.
He pitched the idea of the school to the local chamber of commerce and industry as a way to revitalize the regional economy but got nowhere.
He was told that the region’s problems were not so dire that a school project was needed to bail it out.
Hatanaka decided to go it alone.
By the time his company secured funding, a school building and teachers, Japan was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With no signs of the public health crisis abating, some local leaders voiced their concerns to Hatanaka about the fate of the school.
But nobody in Hatanaka’s company was skeptical about tapping foreign talent.
Everyone who had worked alongside foreign staff knew they were a dependable presence.
Currently, 35 of Hatanaka’s 230 or so employees are from overseas. They include people from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Cambodia.
Most of them are in their 20s and 30s.
Seven of the foreign staff are regular employees, meaning their jobs are secure.
Hatanaka’s next project is to expand his chain in Hokkaido.
Opening sushi outlets in the countries where his foreign employees are from is a future option as Hatanaka is keen to spread Japanese culinary culture overseas along with the spirit of “omotenashi” hospitality.
“Unless it becomes the norm to see foreigners working for Japanese companies, Japan will be beaten by other countries,” he said.
AloJapan.com