Masahiko Shibayama, special adviser to Prime Minister Abe said that the policy considerations to bring in more foreign workers to Japan could increase the number of foreign workers who are currently working in the country until doubled.
Shibayama said the global situation as it is today, in the number of foreign workers can not be avoided.
"There might be a lot of strategies adopted in the next few years. We have to create a sustainable system to accept more foreign workers," Shibayama said as quoted by Bloomberg, Sunday (09/18/2016).
Immigration has often proposed as a solution to the problems of an aging population in Japan because of the low birth rate.
Abe himself has said it will stop the fall of the population figure closer to 100 million from the current 127 million.
Former deputy economy minister who currently serves as adviser to Abe, Yasutoshi Nishimura said that the government plans to issue laws that extend the system of "apprenticeship" that foreign workers can enter and work in Japan within a certain period.
Japan is also considering a new visa category for sectors that are labor shortages. Around 190,000 foreign workers currently working in Japan under such a system.
According to Nishimura, the new law will allow workers lived and worked in Japan for five years from the previous three years. The legislation also would allow the company to have the number of apprentice more and allow them to work in the broader business sector.
Nishimura also said, a review of the system will continue to do. According to him, there are also discussions to bring the technology industry workers from India and Vietnam.
In addition, there is also talk of the creation of a new visa category for countries with growing tourism industry.
Nishimura said the expansion of foreign tourism has helped change the outlook of Japanese citizens against foreigners.
"We have received a lot of foreign tourists. I think Japanese people have now been reduced skepticism, so the situation will gradually change," said Nishimura
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