Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito successfully pushed through a foreign workers bill on Saturday that will officially open the door for unskilled workers to enter the country in order to alleviate labor shortages.
The controversial bill represents a major U-turn on domestic worker policy in Japan, which has historically been reluctant to welcome foreign assistance. However, it is seen by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a vital piece of his economic puzzle as he looks to plug labor gaps in a range of key growth industries.
Japan’s looming IR industry is one sector that will significantly benefit from the ability to bring in foreign workers, with Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho stating only last week that his company would likely need to employ more than 10,000 foreign workers during the early years of operation should it win one of the three IR licenses to be issued.
The LDP’s new law will see Japan introduce two new visa categories from April 2019, each with different requirements regarding knowledge and experience. However, both will require at least a basic ability to converse in some Japanese.
According to reports, there were just under 1.3 million foreign workers in Japan at the end of October 2017.
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