TOKYO -- Managing a diverse workforce is like coaching soccer in Brazil, says the head of a small Japanese auto parts supplier looking to establish itself as a trendsetter in support for foreigners in a country that tends to see them as guest workers rather than residents.
"Brazilian soccer is strong because players come together to win, regardless of race or nationality," Toshinao Hirano, the 45-year-old president of Hirano Vinyl Industry, which makes seat covers.
The manufacturer's story shows how such inclusiveness is becoming a factor in financial institutions and investors' views on Japanese companies, in addition to environmental and governance criteria.
Located southwest of Tokyo in Shizuoka Prefecture -- home to Suzuki Motor and Yamaha Motor -- the company recently received 100 million yen ($900,000) in working capital financing from local lender Shizuoka Bank.
The so-called positive impact finance loan, which is based on United Nations sustainable development goals, recognizes Hirano Vinyl in part for its efforts at energy conservation and waste reduction. The biggest reason, however, was its efforts to foster a multicultural workforce.
A total of 97 foreign nationals, including 49 participants in a government-run technical trainee program and 10 permanent employees, worked at Hirano Vinyl as of February, making up over 60% of the payroll. They hail from such countries as Brazil, Peru and the Philippines.
Hirano Vinyl offers in-house Japanese language lessons. Its foreign employees participate in beautification projects, disaster preparedness training and other community activities.
Pay scales are generally uniform regardless of employee nationality. Technical trainees that demonstrate proficiency in their duties can have their pay raised to a level comparable to that of other workers. Foreigners have been tapped to serve as subsection chief or team leaders. Training for managers is given to foreigners as well through interpreters.
Hirano received one of his first lessons in multiculturalism when he traveled to Brazil after high school for a soccer camp. There, he was the foreigner, and he found the team welcomed him regardless of his nationality.
After taking the reins of the unlisted company from his father in 2004, when he was in his 20s, Hirano decided to start offering assistance to foreign workers. He began with Japanese classes after he was forced to cut jobs in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Hirano aims to publish a comprehensive training program for foreign workers by 2025. The hope is that sharing the know-how with the public could help foreigners better integrate into Japanese communities.
Many foreigners working in Japan arrive under a government-run technical trainee program. Providing support for foreign employees is a concern for listed companies as well, particularly as investors pay closer attention to environmental, social and governance factors. Businesses have begun disclosing more information in investor materials about the assistance they offer to these workers.
Restaurant operator Skylark Holdings has written in annual reports about a help desk it set up for its roughly 2,500 non-Japanese workers. The company also said it has a program for hiring friends and compatriots of current employees to alleviate any feelings of anxiety and isolation. Seafood company Kyokuyo's latest annual report mentioned a Japanese language school for foreign technical trainees set up by a subsidiary.
"If a company develops a better reputation for the support it provides, it becomes easier to recruit foreign employees, which can be used to appeal to investors," said Shigeru Uchigasaki, CEO of consulting company Human Resources Governance Leaders.
In late 2018, Japan's government put together a package of measures to help foreign nationals "coexist" in Japanese society , ahead of the introduction of a new visa status for highly skilled workers.
But progress has been slow on putting these ideas into practice. A proposed accreditation system for Japanese-language teachers, for example, remains unfinished.
Cooperation is needed between national and local authorities to help educate the children of foreign nationals . There is also a rush to train medical interpreters for non-Japanese patients at hospitals.
The national government has essentially left local authorities to figure out how to help foreigners adjust to life in Japan. It faces growing pressure to shift its focus on foreign residents less as a source of labor and more as members of the community.