Two Thai men join Japan's logistics industry amid labour shortage
Japanese media has spotlighted two Thai men who have gained recognition by flying to Japan to work as truck drivers in the logistics sector, as the Tohoku region welcomes foreign workers to address labour shortages.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that Tomita Transport, based in Yamato, Miyagi Prefecture, hired the two Thai workers as truck drivers on August 4. This marks the first time in the Tohoku region that foreign workers have been recruited to work in the logistics industry due to a severe labour shortage.
In March of the previous year, the automobile transport industry was added to the list of sectors allowed to hire foreign workers under the specified skilled worker type 1 visa category.
The two hired drivers, 32-year-old Nontawat Sunawapong and 33-year-old Theeraphong Siripattathorn, do not yet hold large truck driving licences.
However, they will undergo driving school training, with the company covering all associated costs, including the licence application. The goal is for them to begin driving trucks by the end of this year.
Theeraphong shared that he had to leave his wife and their two children, aged 4 and 2, in Thailand when he moved to Japan two years ago. He decided to become a truck driver because he enjoys driving and was recommended for the job by a recruitment agency.
"I want to seriously learn Japanese and traffic laws to work for my family," he explained.
Japan's transport industry is facing an increasingly severe labour shortage, exacerbated by restrictions on working hours and overtime, which have led to a labour crisis known as the "2024 Problem."
Tomita Transport began hiring workers from Thailand and Bangladesh for its maintenance department two years ago but continues to struggle with both labour shortages and an ageing workforce in the truck-driving division.
Shinya Tomita, the 51-year-old president of the company, stated, "Hiring foreign workers requires time for training, but we have no choice but to do it."
