Japan plans to open its borders to 820,000 more long-term foreign workers over the next five years, after adding four new industries to its skilled worker visa program.
That is double the number Japan originally planned to accept over the same period, and about four times the current population of 208,000 foreign workers on the Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 visa which allows stays of up to five years.
To gain a No. 1 visa foreigners must be proficient in Japanese and demonstrate professional skills enabling them to work immediately in the 16 eligible industries.
The expansion adds road and railway transportation, and the forestry and timber industries, and is the first since 2019.
The move is aimed at addressing a likely driver shortage caused by a new limit to overtime hours, and concerns over labour shortages in logistics and transportation, The Japan Times reported.
Japan’s foreign resident population has grown in recent years to approximately 2.29% of the total.
The 2.76 million foreigners include 292,702 with special permanent resident status, and 1,181,203 non-permanent residents on limited duration work visas, mainly from Asia.
The remainder include 327,689 on technical intern training program visas, 242,444 international students, and a small number of asylum seekers.
Japan approves just 0.2% of asylum applications, compared to about 40% in Canada.
Jimmy Kimmel says traveling to Japan made him realize how ‘filthy and disgusting’ the US is by comparison. He’s not wrong. pic.twitter.com/QQuChpUn3Y
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) April 4, 2024
