Japan to Centrally Manage Foreign Residents Information

Tokyo, June 17 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to introduce a system to centrally manage information about foreign residents as a way to prevent an increase in illegal stays, officials said. The Justice Ministry will play a key role in handling information about foreign residents, including on jobs, tax payments and marriages, that has been separately managed by central and local government agencies. The system is intended to strengthen the government's surveillance on illegal stays as it plans to accept more foreign workers to address severe labor shortages in Japan. As part of the effort, the government is considering setting up a new organization within the ministry to collect and analyze information about foreign residents. There were about 1.28 million foreign workers in Japan as of October last year. The construction industry alone is expected to face shortages of up to 900,000 workers in the fiscal year that begins in April 2025. The government unveiled plans Friday to create a new resident status to allow foreigners with certain levels of expertise and Japanese language skills to work in Japan. The new status is expected to cover the nursing care, lodging, agriculture, construction and shipbuilding sectors. The government also plans to cooperate with companies to give livelihood support to foreign workers, including multilanguage guidance, Japanese language education and the supply of housing. END