New "Non-Specialist" Visa Classification

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo: Japan may accept nonspecialist foreign workers
Japan will consider drastically revising its immigration policy to pave the way for accepting nonspecialist foreign workers with the aim of securing workers amid the country's aging society, according to a document Kyodo News obtained Thursday. The Justice Ministry plans to say the government will consider admitting foreign workers who are not specialists or engineers "in a steady manner" in a new basic immigration policy guideline it plans to release later this month, according to the draft. Japan has allowed foreign specialists and engineers to work in the country for up to three years at a time. The new draft guideline calls for extending the period...The envisaged revision will be the first revision to the ministry's basic immigration policy guideline since 2000. The draft says "the time has arrived" to review Japan's overall policy on foreign workers but it goes into no detail...A new category of visa status will also be studied as the number of foreign nationals involved in long-term international business activities in Japan grows, the ministry sources said.