Japan's stagnant wages risk making the country unattractive to Southeast Asian and Chinese workers by the early 2030s, reports Nikkei Asia, citing research by the Japan Centre for Economic Research. The study compares wages earned by factory workers in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand with the money a foreign national would receive through Japan's government-sponsored technical training program.

By 2032, factory wages in all except the Philippines are projected to be more than half of the trainee pay in Japan. Once local wages hit the 50% threshold, workers may be more reluctant to relocate to Japan. A sharp drop in the yen is already driving some foreign workers away as other Asian economies fight to attract labour, the study showed. Vietnamese are the largest nationality of foreign residents in Japan after Chinese, and they make up the biggest share of technical trainees, Justice Ministry data shows.