Return home or stay Japanese expatriate difficult choice due to coronal brutal July 31 18:55

As the spread of new coronaviruses continues to spread around the world, among Japanese expatriates stationed overseas, there is a tendency to temporarily leave Japan due to anxiety about the local medical system and other reasons. is. However, in some countries, it is practically forbidden for foreigners to re-enter the country once they leave the country.Therefore, many people stay to continue working locally, and Japanese expatriates have to make difficult choices. I will.

Many countries in the world refuse to enter foreigners as measures against the border of the new coronavirus, and even in the top five countries with the highest number of infected people, India and Russia, and in South Africa, the re-entry of foreigners is reentry It's getting harder to be restricted.

In recent years, these countries have been attracting attention as emerging countries, and Japanese companies have entered the market and many Japanese are stationed there, but due to restrictions on re-entry, once they leave Japan, they cannot return.

Although there is a time difference from the expatriates who have actually evacuated to Japan, there are voices saying that communication with local staff may not work well, and production may be hindered by the absence of Japanese engineers who are in the field. I am.

For this reason, many expatriates continue to stay in the field while having concerns about infection in order to continue their work locally.

As infections with the new coronavirus continue to spread around the world, Japanese expatriates in countries where re-entry is virtually restricted are forced to choose between anxiety about infection and continuation of work.

In India

In India, with a cumulative total of more than 1.6 million people and the third largest in the world after the United States and Brazil, more than 50,000 new infections have been confirmed every day.

According to the local Japanese Embassy, ​​in the capital city New Delhi, there are not enough ICUs in the three hospitals that are relatively well equipped by foreigners.

All regular passenger flights to and from Japan are still stopped, but due to concerns about medical care, nearly 90% of corporate employees have already taken refuge in Japan due to temporary flights.

On the other hand, it seems that about 1,500 people are still staying in India due to problems in their work.

Yasuhiko Toyota, the president of a local company of a logistics company headquartered in Osaka, is one of them.

I am hesitant to return to Japan because I am worried that logistics between Japan and India will be delayed if I cannot return to India again.

Mr. Toyoda said, "I feel that the Indian staff and family have been infected and are getting closer, and I have to be careful, but I do not want to demoralize the staff and as a logistics company I will not stay on the site I will update the latest information I stay because I can't take it."

In Russia

In Russia, where the cumulative number of infected people was 830,000, although the peak of the spread of infection reached the peak in May this year, more than 5000 new infections are still confirmed every day.

In Russia, the border between air and land was closed one after another in late March as a waterfront measure to prevent infection, so many of the approximately 600 Japanese expatriates in and around Moscow, the capital, will stay there. Was forced to.

Of these, Katsuhiko Murakami, the president of the local subsidiary that manufactures shovel cars, (62) decided to evacuate eight people, half of the expatriates, to Japan by temporary flight, and the remaining seven decided to stay there.

Mr. Murakami said, "In order to continue the business, I had to stay on the front line. It is very significant for the Japanese to stay and continue the business in order to support the Russian economy." I was talking.

In Russia this month, the government has announced a policy to allow foreigners to re-enter Japan, and Japanese expatriates are expected to re-enter in August.

Regarding this response, Mr. Murakami has made a certain evaluation, but as he is still in a situation where he can not be relieved to be able to re-enter Japan, will Mr. Murakami return the expatriate staff including themselves after seeing the infection situation in Russia in the future? I will consider it.

Mr. Murakami says that he has been at the forefront of business as a representative in Latin America, Asia, and Europe for 20 years, saying, "If you are not going abroad, you can not support Japan's small island country. Wants to support Japan from the outside."

In South Africa

South Africa's new coronavirus has infected more than 480,000 people, making it the fifth largest in the world.

According to JETRO=Japan External Trade Organization, about 650 Japanese expatriates and their families have been moving to evacuate to Japan with charter aircraft due to the spread of infection, but about 200 people still remain. I will.

The main reason for this is the fact that the measures that effectively restrict the re-entry of foreign nationals are made, and once they have evacuated to Japan, they cannot return to South Africa.

However, in South Africa, it is predicted that the infection will peak from August to September, and it has been pointed out that private hospitals used by expatriates may run out of beds, and expatriates are forced to make difficult decisions. I am.

In response to this situation, JETRO, along with Japanese companies, will work with the South African government to ease re-entry restrictions.

Mr. Keiaki Ishihara, Director of JETRO Johannesburg Office, said, "There are many expatriates of companies that have a desire to make business in Africa, where population is increasing in the future, and a mission to help social issues in Africa. Re-entry from South African government I would like to see Japanese companies monolithically collect information and work to obtain permission.”