At Higashimatsuyama Center, we make home meal service products and produce approximately 55,000 boxed lunches per day. The food manufacturing industry as a whole is experiencing labor shortages. However, as it involves mainly repetitive standardized labor, it is a relatively easy field for foreign workers to work in. At our center we began accepting foreign workers in 2017, in an effort to secure new workers against a backdrop of labor shortages and an aging workforce.

When hiring specified skilled workers, we focused on those who had experience as technical intern trainees. Our hiring process involves two rounds of interviews, and in the first round we tell candidates about their work location and carefully answer any questions they may have about living conditions and other matters.

Our foreign workers main duties are packing lunch boxes, but they also transport and inspect ingredients. On the packing line, they begin with easy to handle ingredients and work their way up to more difficult tasks such as handling foods with high viscosity. They all work their hardest from the very first task they are taught. They have a strong initiative to work efficiently, and at times they even make suggestions to improve the workflow.

Also, although we provide a manual in Vietnamese, the foreign workers help each other quite a lot, with senior trainees giving advice to newer workers and interpreting what Japanese co-workers say. On the other hand, one area of difficulty is the difference in awareness of hygiene standards, such as handwashing and cleaning things. We are making efforts towards fostering understanding, not only by calling out issues on the spot, but also by taking advantage of opportunities when interpreters are present to clearly explain the reasons for hygiene policies.