Immigration Law and Policy of Japan in the Age of East Asian Community- Building � Yoshiaki Sato �� Japanese immigration law has been amended several times since 2000. These revisions aimed at coping with globalization and regionalization in East Asia. Since mobility is a critical issue for establishing a transnational labor market and ultimately a regional community, this article examines the interaction between Japanese immigration law, especially that of the Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program, and the struggle to build an East Asian Community. This article proposes enhancing the mutual recognition of certifications of skill as a means to promote the movement of people in the region. Keywords Immigration law, Mobility, East Asian Community, Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program, Mutual Recognition of Certifications I. Introduction Japanese immigration law has been frequently amended since 2000. The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act 1 was revised in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. The overall trend has been providing immigrants with greater access to the Japanese labor market. The Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan 2 and the New Growth Strategy Ѫ ❑❋❇❏▼☎✸☎✮✸✶✷✶✯ ❏♥♥❥❤❜✉❥♣♦☎▼❜①☎♣❣☎❑❜❜♦ 293 * This paper was presented at the East Asian Legal Studies Lunchtime Talk held at Harvard Law School on March 22, 2010. The author is grateful to Keisuke Mark Abe, Young Hill Liew and Mark Ramseyer for their valuable comments. ** Professor of Law, Seikei University, Japan; Intellectual Member, Council on East Asian Community. LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. (Tokyo). The author may be contacted at: sato@law.seikei.ac.jp /Address: Faculty of Law, Seikei University, 3-3- 1 Kichijoji-Kitamachi, Musashino, Tokyo, 180-8633, Japan. 1 Available at http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/icrr-01.html (last visited on Oct. 4, 2010). 2 Available at http://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/vision/plan.html (last visited on Oct. 4, 2010).