Japanese companies sourcing more talent from India, China

Japan is looking for fresh talent from countries like India and China and Russia to fight technology competition from emerging economies, including its two major Asian neighbours, South Korea and China.

Faced with cut-throat competition from Korean companies like LG and Samsung, Japanese technology giants are stepping up efforts to hire talent from India, China and other emerging countries.

Technology companies are no exception to the trend of cross-border talent hunting as they try to survive the crucial phase.

Japanese electronics giant Sony Corporation for long the preserve of Japanese and Western technology talents, is now increasingly looking at Indian professionals for its mainstream operations.

''I'm happy to be able to work in the company's head office, where creative work and core operations are concentrated,'' Kyodo news agency quoted Harshad Maral, and Indian engineer who was hired by Sony Corp in 2010, as saying.

Maral has been fascinated by Sony's commitment to innovation since he read a book written by Akio Morita, the company's iconic co-founder, while he was a student.

In 2011, Sony introduced a fast-track training programme for entry-level foreign workers at its offices in Asia and West Asia, aiming to foster skills.

With an ageing society and shrinking population continue to curtail the ranks of working-age Japanese, Japanese companies are prolonging working hours for employees and curbing holidays, making work conditions difficult.

Japan is in dire need for foreign talent and companies are skipping traditional Japanese system of promotion and providing them the chance to move up the career ladder in an attempt to attract foreign workers.

Employers have now discovered that working long hours are not the ones that receive employee commendation awards.

Opening the door wide to foreign workers, as well as giving women more working opportunities, a part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth strategy, is now a national challenge for Japan.

But, with long hours of work and no holidays foreign workers have less enthusiasm to live in Japan.

Japanese companies employing five or more workers and hiring new workers, while around 20 per cent hired at least one foreigner as an entry-level worker in 2014, according to a survey conducted by Recruit Career Co.

Next year, around 30 per cent are planning to do so, the survey added.