Foreign Trainees and Technical Internship Programs : The Case of Thai Trainees

This paper aims to explore the situation of Thai migrants in Japan by studying Thai trainees and their internships in Foreign Trainees and Technical Internship Programs in Japan. The programs were established with a stated purpose to facilitate technological transfer from Japan to developing countries. In effect, the programs were found to operate against its original aim for international cooperation by accepting unskilled workers to do the so-called 3K job types (Kitanai, Kiken and Kitsui meaning dirty, dangerous and hard, respectively) in the *Japanese SMEs. The present study interviewed Thai trainees in Japan and some related informants about their experience in the programs. The findings reveal three categories of Thai trainees, namely trainees in Individual Enterprise-based Training programs, in Association-managed Training programs (sent by private agents) and in Association-managed Training programs (sent by government). It was found that trainees in each category are treated differently. It was also found that on the gender side, female trainees are at a disadvantaged position due to their ineligibility to apply to some of these programs