Did you know, that according to the Labor Ministry, there were 141,285 foreigners employed by Japanese companies within Japan, up 8.3% over last year. Of those, 27,622 people were hired for technical and management positions -- lifting the role of the foreign employee beyond shop floor laborer.
(Sources: TT commentary from yahoo.com, Sep 18, and yomiuri.co.jp, Sep 17, 2003)
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/030918/3/3e9q0.html
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20030917wo11.htm