'Shimaguni konjou' vs Gets aliens?

[Taro Toporific]

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Japan Today: Japan needs to amend negative views on foreign labor

Experts including a former Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau chief agreed Friday in a symposium that more Japanese need to have a positive image toward foreign workers. "Japanese people need to welcome" foreign workers as we "receive them as helpers" for solving issues related to Japan's declining population, Hidenori Sakanaka, who retired from the Justice Ministry last year, said at the symposium held in Tokyo. Sakanaka, who headed the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau until the end of March last year and is now president of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, also said that while making a comfortable living environment for foreign workers, the country also needs to foster qualified foreigners in terms of skills and languages. Other panelists proposed introducing Japanese qualification tests for foreigners as a measure to decide whether to grant them permanent or long-term stay in Japan.