The right to organise is further undermined by the abusive use of the Industrial Training Programme (ITP) and the Technical Internship Programme (TIP), which provide three year visas to unskilled foreign workers to come to Japan and receive training. Work permits are required and while workers have the right to organise, that right is indirectly undermined mostly through agreements between the trainees and the employment agencies in the sending countries. Despite promises of training in technological skills, many of the workers end up in sweatshops where they are forced to work long hours under dangerous conditions and for as little as half the minimum wage. The government amended the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in July 2009 (which entered into force in July 2010), revising the ITP and TIP and including new provisions. The full impact of the amendments is yet to be seen.
The number of businesses found to be infringing the regulations has greatly increased (1,627 in 2009, infringement rate 70.5% to 2,328 in 2010, infringement rate 74.0%). In contrast, the number of claims from overseas technical intern trainees for infringements of regulations relating to labour standards has greatly decreased. However, further verification is required to discover whether the above situation has been caused by the revision of the immigration act.