The Japanese currency over the past two years has fallen more than 20% against the dong. While foreign construction engineers in Japan have been earning an average monthly wage of about 200,000 yen ($1,375) in recent years, skilled workers in the same sector in Vietnam can now earn about 25 million dong (150,000 yen) a month, thanks to wage increases of 10% to 20% there.
"Japan's status as a prime work destination is eroding fast due to a narrowing wage gap," said Be Minh Nhat of MPKen.
Wages in Japan have fallen sharply in dollar terms. If converted at September exchange rates, the average wage of Japanese workers in fiscal 2020 and 2021 was 40% lower than in fiscal 2012.
Wages in Vietnam and the Philippines are still low, compared to those in Japan. If the dollar-based average pay in the Japanese nonmanufacturing sector is indexed as 100, wages in Hanoi and Manila are 20 to 30. But the wages of construction engineers and nursing-care workers have already risen to 50 to 70 in both cities.
Wage levels of nonmanufacturing sector in Singapore and Hong Kong have already exceeded those of Japan.
Japan had 1.72 million foreign workers in 2021, accounting for 2.5% of its working population and 2.5 times more than a decade earlier. Chinese used to constitute the largest group but in 2020 were replaced by Vietnamese. The number of workers from less developed countries such as Nepal is increasing, but Japan's attractiveness will continue to diminish as the yen weakens and wage levels rise elsewhere.
Labor shortages are particularly acute in Japan's construction sector. "Work at building sites will come to a stop unless wages improve," said Shogo Iwata, head of the Japan Reinforcement Contractor's Association. Foreign workers already account for 20% of reinforced steel specialists. The Japan International Cooperation Agency estimates that an additional 5 million foreign workers will be needed by 2040 if Japan is to reach the government's economic growth target.