Japan to Allow Seasonal Labor under New Residence Status

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japan's government plans to allow foreigners coming to the country under one of two new types of residence status permitting a stay of up to five years to work only in certain seasons, it was learned Sunday. The step will be in response to requests mainly from the agriculture industry, informed sources said. If foreigners return home after arriving in Japan with so-called type one status and visit the country again, the periods in which they actually worked in Japan will be counted as the periods of their stays in the country under the status, according to the sources. This measure will be stipulated in a Justice Ministry ordinance that will be set after the enactment of a planned bill to revise the immigration control law, the sources said. The government plans to establish the two types of residence status, designed to accept more workers from abroad, through the law revision, hoping to introduce them in April next year. Type one status will be granted to foreigners having certain levels of knowledge or experience. Family members of the holders will not be allowed to come with them. Meanwhile, type two status will be given to highly skilled people, who will be able to stay in Japan for more than five years. They will be allowed to bring their family members to Japan. Under the new types of residence status, the government plans to allow foreigners to work in 14 industries facing serious labor shortages, including agriculture and construction. In line with the plan for the residence period to be counted flexibly, the business sector is expected to call on the government to expand the scope of industries qualified to employ foreigners under the new status. In a hearing conducted recently by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Judicial Affairs Division, Mizuho Onuma, a House of Councillors member elected from the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata, called for due consideration to be paid regarding the designing of the new residence status system, noting that the prefecture is busy with farming operations in summer but with snow removal work in winter. An official of the prefectural government of Kumamoto, southwestern Japan, said that farmers are busy for only limited periods. END