One issue frequently highlighted in discussions about Japan’s foreign worker programs is the problem of workers who “disappear.”
Under programs such as the Technical Intern Training Program, some foreign workers leave their assigned workplaces and become undocumented.
In public discourse, these cases are often framed in simple terms.
Workers break the rules.
Workers run away.
Immigration control must therefore be strengthened.
However, this explanation is far too simple.
To understand the phenomenon, we must ask a more fundamental question:
Why would someone who came to Japan legally decide to abandon the system?
Most Workers Arrive Legally
Many of the workers who later disappear did not enter Japan irregularly.
They passed screening procedures.
They obtained visas.
They arrived through official recruitment channels.
At the time of arrival, their intention was not to violate immigration rules.
They came to work.
Yet somewhere along the way, the system failed to support them.
Understanding this point is essential.
Because disappearance is rarely the starting point of the story.
It is usually the result.
Labour Conditions Matter
In practice, many runaway workers report similar experiences.
Low wages.
Excessive working hours.
Unpaid overtime.
Poor living conditions.
In some cases, the job promised during recruitment turns out to be very different from the reality they encounter after arrival.
When such conditions occur, workers face a difficult dilemma.
Leaving the workplace may also mean leaving the legal framework that ties their visa to a specific employer.
In this sense, what appears to be an immigration violation may actually originate in labour market problems.
The movement of workers toward better opportunities is a normal economic behaviour.
The problem arises when immigration systems do not allow that movement to occur legally.
The Overlooked Factor: Home-Country Employment
Yet labour conditions in Japan are only part of the story.
Another factor is often overlooked in public debate.
That is the employment situation in the worker’s home country.
Many migrants come to Japan because job opportunities at home are limited.
If returning home means facing unemployment or severe income loss, the economic pressure to remain abroad becomes extremely strong.
Even if conditions in Japan are difficult, remaining in the country may still appear preferable to returning home without work.
This structural reality significantly influences the choices workers make.
In some cases, disappearing from the formal system becomes a survival strategy rather than a deliberate attempt to violate the law.
Recognizing this international dimension is essential.
Migration does not occur in isolation within one country’s borders.
It is shaped by economic relationships between countries.
The Limits of Enforcement
When runaway workers are discussed primarily as a law enforcement issue, policy responses tend to focus on control.
Stricter inspections.
More workplace raids.
Harsher penalties.
Such measures may temporarily reduce visible violations.
But they rarely address the underlying causes.
If the economic incentives that drive workers to disappear remain unchanged, enforcement alone cannot eliminate the problem.
In fact, excessive reliance on enforcement risks pushing vulnerable workers further into the shadows.
A Different Perspective
The Balanced Coexistence Model proposes a broader approach.
Instead of viewing disappearance solely through the lens of immigration control, we must examine the structure of the labour market and the international context of migration.
This requires attention to several factors:
• fair working conditions
• transparent recruitment practices
• mobility within the labour market
• economic realities in migrants’ home countries
Foreign worker policies cannot be designed as if migrants exist only within the legal framework of the host country.
They are part of a global labour market shaped by economic disparities between nations.
Toward a More Sustainable System
The disappearance of workers is often treated as evidence that foreign worker programs are failing.
In reality, it reveals something deeper.
It shows the limits of policies that treat migration purely as a matter of border control.
A sustainable immigration framework must recognize the connection between immigration systems, labour markets, and international economic relations.
Only by acknowledging these connections can countries design policies that are both orderly and humane.
That is the perspective offered by the Balanced Coexistence Model.