The Sustainable Agents of Habitus and Capital on Prospective

Kenshūsei (Training) and Jisshūsei (Intern Training) Who Migrate to

Japan

Roberto Masami Prabowo

and Dade Mahzuni

Japanese Department, Faculty of Humanities, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia 11480

Padjadjaran University

Keywords: Industrial and Technological, Kenshūsei and Jisshūsei

Abstract: Japan has a famous for its industrial and technological advances until today, after the 1990s Japan had an

economy collapse and monetary crisis. With this phenomenon, many Japanese companies are reducing local

employees for counting bankruptcy and start recruiting the overseas employee for cheaper wages. Overseas

employees and workers is named with kenshūsei and jisshūsei which is a short temporary contract work

system in a company in Japan. This system became a pull factor for employees in Indonesia, which became

a new habitus since the 2000s. Some employees who want to migrate to Japan refer to some of the factors of

habitus and capital they have. The theory and concept of this study uses Pierre Bourdieu on habitus and

capital, as well as from Nanang Martono on social change strategies. The conclusion of this research is a

perspective of habitus and capital of Indonesian employees who will leave for Japan.

1 INTRODUCTION

Nihon is the country has meaning “the origin of the

sun” or “the land of the rising sun” was used to refer

to Japan. Japanese society generally has a strong

spirit and desire in any case, including in the world

of work. In data from UNDP (United Nations

Development Program), Japan entered the 17th rank

worldwide with a per capita income of

approximately $ 37.268, while Indonesia was ranked

with per capita income of about $ 10.053 in 2014.

Some progress factors in Japan are based on morals,

ethics, culture, and many more, that have existed

since Nara period (710-794) (UNDP, 2018).

The progress in Japanese industry that began in

the Meiji era around 1868 until now has been in

great demand by many countries such as the

automotive industry, food, electronics, toys, and so

forth. The development of Japanese industry in the

1940s has focused on military products for the war

with other countries, such as China, Taiwan, Korea,

and Southeast Asian countries. That products are

generally related to air, ground and marine

technology, in addition there are some technologies

adopted and cooperation with the German state

which aims to master the attacks of the allied forces.

On August 15, 1945, Japan had surrendered

unconditionally to its allies and on September 2,

1945 the Japanese signed an official treaty ending

the war. After the World War II ended, the Japanese

state had a population explosion known as baby

boom or in Japanese which named dankai no sedai

(団塊の世代) in 1947 - 1949. The second baby

boom occurred again in 1971 - 1974, this is

happened again because most people who born in

the first baby boom years have grown, married, and

have more than 2 children.

In 1990, Japan had a monetary crisis that resulted

in some companies going bankrupt, inflation, and,

some cases of unilateral dismissal of employees.

Several companies are still surviving, they are cut

off some employees to save the expenses of

employees' salaries. From these circumstances, the

Japanese government took steps to create an

employee recruitment system with recruiting foreign

labor with wages below Japanese standards to save

Japanese companies. The Japanese government took

steps in cooperation in sending workers from outside

Japan, one of state is Indonesia. By 2016, Indonesian

is ranked as the 4th in 8.2%, number about 18,744

employees from Indonesia working in Japan

(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2016).

Prabowo, R. and Mahzuni, D.

The Sustainable Agents of Habitus and Capital on Prospective Kensh

usei (Training) and Jissh

usei (Intern Training) Who Migrate to Japan.

DOI: 10.5220/0010010200002917

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social Sciences, Laws, Arts and Humanities (BINUS-JIC 2018), pages 447-451

ISBN: 978-989-758-515-9

447

This number still grown up until now and

Japanese government need this human resource to

counter the out number of Japanese workers since

1990. The other factors of decline number on local

labor in Japan is because the abolition of a lifelong

work system or in Japan called shūshinkoyō

(終身雇用), divorce, reduced birth rate, and family

split. Thus, the decline in the number of Japanese

employees, the Japanese government took steps to

accept foreign workers, so that the opportunity of

foreign workers who wander or migrate to Japan.

Japanese government finally found a solution to

keep the Japanese industry from bankrupt with

recruiting foreign workers compared to local

employees. The foreign workers program which

named kenshūsei and jisshūsei. The working system

is divided into 2 periods known as kenshūsei and

jisshūsei (研修生・実習生), kenshūsei period which

means training and jisshūsei period are intern

trainning.

2 DISCUSSION AND RESULT

The trainee and intern trainee system for foreigners

(外国人研修制・実習制度 / gaikokujin kenshūsei

and jisshūsei seido) have been established since

April 1993 and the needs continue to grow. Data

from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social

Affairs of Japan (2006), kenshūsei and jisshūsei who

learn and working the science and engineering in

small-medium enterprises in Japan, only few

employees can develop science and technique after

came back to Indonesia. The initial principle of the

kenshūsei and jisshūsei system is hitozukuri

(人づくり) which means "to form human beings".

Everyone should be able to maximize and develop

science and engineering in the company when in

Japan according to ability and according to work,

then able to apply his knowledge and techniques in

his homeland, establish a relationship between

Indonesia and Japan in industry, science, and

technology (Ministry of Health, Labour and

Welfare, 2016).

Kenshūsei period is usually for 10 months and

after that they must take the examines to became

jisshūsei or intern training will take for 2 years 2

months. The wage is regulated by Japan's Ministry

of Health and Labor and Social Affairs, their wages

is enormous if calculated or compared to income in

Indonesia. This phenomenon becomes a "pull factor"

or driving for Indonesian factory workers willing to

work or migrate to Japan to improve their family's

economy, while wages of factory workers in

Indonesia is a small and this is becoming a "push

factor" to seek a better income.

If someone want to reach a higher career in the

company, usually takes a long time to achieve a high

enough position such as supervisor or manager. The

employees appointed by his superiors to get

promoted positions on condition that he/she must

want to go to Japan or want to take as a shortcut,

they will take kenshūsei and jisshūsei program.

According to Sartain et. al., they be motivated in

their career are categorized as follows (Syamsul,

2015):

1. Motivation by force

2. Motivation by enticement

3. Motivation by identification / ego-involvement

These three motivations result in different "goals",

from which these motivations form a diverse habitus

of employees, depending on the capital (strategy)

they have during their lifetime. The capital owned

by the employee is formed from habitus and

environment (field) from childhood to enter the

company. If that employee has a family background

with economically well-off and has a family, usually

he/she only has a habit of working in the safe zone

and will return to work in the company in

accordance with positions or positions previously

agreed.

According to Bourdieu, habitus is a system of

disposition used at the practical level as categories

and principles which become the principle of social

organization to accept practical to the construction

of objects. A person's habits are formed from the

experience and place he experiences. He usually

takes results and acts on and finds ones that have

become the principles that constitute a social

institution or practical action that refers to his social

circle.

Habitus is a complex concept, but easy to use if

we can understand the structure based on,

sensitivity, disposition, and taste. Habitus is usually

an objective result against a social structure based on

a person's level of subjectivity. Bourdieu gives much

of his explanation of the symbolic violence

(symbolic violence) that cannot be found in

everyday life and becomes a dynamic relationship in

social life (social domination) (Christina, 2010).

1. Habitus is a generative dynamic structure

that adapts and accommodates itself to

another dynamic meso level structure

composed primarily of other actors,

situated practices and durable institutions

(fields). Meso level is the level of research

that leads to the location, size, or scale of

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research targets, such as clans, tribes,

communities, villages, civilizations, and so

on.

2. Habitus is a purely rationalist positional

formalism with social agents that can be

used in various forms of capital and social

agents as a mechanism that develops,

cognitive, emotional, orientation, physical,

and institutional.

3. The constituent structure of an environment

produces a habitus, a sustainable system, a

transferable disposition, a structure

intended to form a new structure,

representation, as the principle of

generation, and the arrangement of practice.

The practices generated by the

developmental habitus are the principles of

a strategy generator that allows the agent to

cope with changing needs and change.

After the trainee and intern trainee learn and

working in Japan for 3 years, mostly they are

changing. Like attitude, habit, intellection,

appearance, and so on; change into more advanced,

mature, modest, intelligentsia, and more. They habit,

or habitus was formed when they in Japan, it is a

generative dynamic structure that adapts and

accommodates itself to another dynamic meso-level

structure composed primarily of other actors,

situated practices and durable institutions (field).

Habitus designates the durable and transposable

dispositions system by which we perceive, judge in

act in the society. These schemes which are not

normally aware of are acquired by the durable

exposure to conditions and social conditioning, by

internalizing the constraints and external

circumstances. This means that they are shared by

the persons who undergo similar experiences, even

if each of them has an individual way of

manifestation in that common matrix. Symbolic

capital refers to the effects of any capital forms, as a

resource and means of exercising power through

symbolic domination. Thus, habitus is a set of

durable and transposable dispositions which shape

people's perceptions, judgement, and actions in the

world (Edgerton & Roberts, 2014).

IKAPEKSI (Ikatan Pengusaha Kenshūsei

Indonesia) is stand for Association of Entrepreneurs

Kenshūsei Indonesia, one of mission is to become an

intermediary between alumni and Japanese

companies. On March 20

, 2018, this association

was start at meeting in BBLKN Cevest between

IMM Japan Trainee Alumni, IMM Japan CEO,

Expert Staff from KUKM (Koperasi Usaha Kecil-

Menengah, which mean Cooperation of Small-

Medium Enterprises), Marine, and many more. In

this meeting they are looking for a solution and

motivating several alumni to form trainee to build an

association as motivator for apprentice alumni who

wanted to build business (IKAPEKSI, 2018).

On April 20

, 2013, IKAPEKSI has been

officially, while due to the continued increase of

members who register after being socialized through

Social Media (Forum Kenshūsei, Ikat Jepang, and

others), email, and several actions at Seminars in

Japan. IKAPKESI has a vision and mission:

Vision:

• To have an active role in Indonesia's

economic development.

Mission:

• Encourage entrepreneurial spirit for

alumni kenshūsei and jisshūsei.

• Establishing kenshūsei and jisshūsei

alumni business community.

• Establish cooperation with Japanese

companies.

• Cooperating between member and other

members.

• Promoting member companies to

Japanese investors.

The routine activity is introducing the business

prospect in Indonesia for kenshūsei alumni who just

arrived in Indonesia. For the business prospect in

Indonesia divided into 3 terms:

Short-term

• Entrepreneurship Training, Business

Proposal Creation.

• Making workshop seminar and business

motivation.

• Grouping of business fields for each

member.

Medium-term

• Analyse competitive business prospects.

• Developing Human Resources to

compete globally.

• Assist in building independent business

for new members.

Long-term

• Build a company that has high

competitiveness.

• Promoting themselves to Foreign

Investors, especially Japanese Investors.

• Building the nation through an active

role in the Nation's economy.

Those kenshūsei and jisshū

sei alumni who came

back from Japan, they will be recruiting to an agent

The Sustainable Agents of Habitus and Capital on Prospective Kensh

usei (Training) and Jissh

usei (Intern Training) Who Migrate to Japan

449

society of business with Japanese company. Many

workers came back to last work or position,

IKAPEKSI build upon kenshūsei and jisshūsei

alumni to stand as a businessman and build

Indonesian industry with Japanese company.

Business with Japanese company which mean

together build and helping Japanese company and

country. Together analyse the most competitive

business prospect for future, together forming the

cooperation some business, building a trust

relationship and networks for business partner.

According to Cassirer, ‘the field is not a thing-

concept, but relation-concept; it is not composed of

pieces but is a system, a totality of lines of force’. If

Japan and Indonesia relationship will grow and

bonding, this field will be making the power of

relations will stronger. As cited from Bourdieu, a

ﬁeld is a relatively autonomous domain of activity

that responds to rules of functioning and institutions

that are speciﬁc to it and which deﬁne the relations

among the agents (Kemenakertrans, 2018).

As mission of IKAPEKSI, kenshūsei and

jisshūsei alumni are also required and hopefully can

give workshops or seminars to candidate employees

who will go to Japan. They will explain the

experiences when in Japan, key success tips, and

remind the candidates that after returning to

Indonesia, they can contribute and build the

Indonesian industry. The experiences such a using

new technology, methods, Japanese ethics, morals,

culture, and so on. Maybe some employees hard to

believe what happen or experienced by alumnus,

only hearing with no experience, and just imagine

what they said.

IKAPEKSI will give some task to write down the

essay to candidate about future after going back to

Indonesia. As interviewed with Drs. Bagus

Marijanto, MA (Planning Bureau Chef on

KEMENAKERTRANS), many kenshūsei and

jisshūsei alumni had succeeded because they start

from well-off economy, broken home, and had a bad

reputation from school. After they got training,

workshop, and seminar from kenshūsei and jisshūsei

alumni, they want and must success through the

kenshūsei and jisshūsei program. The candidate

thinking, they will not only be working for money,

they are thinking and want to build some new

movement or innovation after they came back to

Indonesia.

Kenshūsei and jisshūsei alumni recruited by

IKAPEKSI, they have gained high science and

technology while working in Japan. It will be

developed in a Japanese company or build its own

company with the science and technology what it

has been learned. According to Bourdieu, employee

habitus generally has a high level of education and

specialized to form competent human resources and

easy to gain a career in the company (Hilgers &

Mangez, 2015).

Bourdieu and Wacquant also pointed out, social

agents are of course not particles, mechanically

pushed and pulled by external forces: ‘They are,

rather, bearers of capitals and, depending on their

trajectory and on the position, they occupy in the

ﬁeld by their endowment (volume and structure) in

capital, they have a propensity to orient themselves

actively either towards the conservation of the

distribution of capital or towards the subversion of

that distribution’ (Martono, 2016).

Based on data from JETRO (Japan External

Trade Organization) in 2014, the number of

Japanese companies listed in Indonesia there are

1449 companies. This number still grown up

because Japanese enterprises or companies trusted

Indonesian company and more important is what

IKAPEKSI work on Japanese company. Alumni

kenshūsei and jisshūsei will always be recruited by

Japanese companies and what more better things is

alumni make their own company in the hope to

cooperate or as a supplier of Japanese companies.

These companies already understand what is needed

by Japanese companies, such as speed, accuracy,

tidiness, cleanliness, and so forth in accordance with

Japanese cultural and business ethics.

On Sunday, October 8

, 2017, IKAPEKSI

INDONESIA has been held the 2nd Alumni

Internship of Japan Magical Reunion which is a

meeting and celebrating with fellow friends, kōhai

(juniors), senpai (seniors), sachoū (directors), and

sensei (lectures). In this opportunity also

accompanied the agenda business matching, sharing

business & networking, job fair, motivation &

training of entrepreneurship, and business

inspiration’s workshop at Grand Karawang Indah

Hotel and Amaris Hotel.

3 CONCLUSION

Indonesian employees or workers who works in

Japan as recruiting by Ministry of Manpower and

Transmigration with IMM Japan, they are already

projected to be agents of new habitus for building

industry and economy of Indonesia country. Before

going to Japan, they get some training and

knowledge by some agents from IKAPEKSI

(Alumni Association of Kenshūsei Indonesia). Then

they go to Japan as kenshusei and jisshusei, they

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must build and creating a competent manpower for

Indonesia in Japan. After 3 years, they will back to

Indonesia as alumni kenshusei and jisshusei to be

actors or agents that provide new habitats to

prospective kenshusei and jisshusei. After return to

Indonesia, they can join to IKAPEKSI to re-build

industry and economy of Indonesia and preparing

the candidates kenshusei and jisshusei to Japan.

The sustainability of agents must be continuing

to prospective kenshusei and jisshusei for build and

create a new habitus for them. The new habitus is a

habit formed between culture, work ethics, science,

Japanese work techniques, and many more. The

formation of new habitus from these agents can form

like a snowball, building a good connection, and the

results can be shared between Japan and Indonesia.

This sustainable system must be maintaining

together, therefore Japan and Indonesia can

developing the industry and economic for future and

beyond.

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