Japan Diet Panel OKs Bill on Training Foreign Workers

Tokyo, May 17 (Jiji Press)--A House of Representatives committee Friday approved legislation to replace the foreign technical intern program with a new training scheme to allow foreigners to work in Japan for the medium to long term. 

The Judicial Affairs Committee of the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, passed the legislation to revise relevant laws including the immigration control and refugee recognition law by a majority vote with support mainly from the ruling camp led by the Liberal Democratic Party.

The legislation was adopted after the ruling camp, the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) agreed to revise a controversial provision that will enable the government to revoke permanent residence permits of foreigners if they deliberately failed to fulfill legal obligations such as tax and social insurance premium payments.

The three sides agreed to add to the provision a rule requiring the government to give due consideration when examining whether to revoke such permits. The CDP only supported the addition of the rule.

Under the new scheme, crafted to secure human resources amid labor shortages, foreign workers will be given three years to obtain Type 1 residency status granted to those with so-called specified skills so that they will be able to live in Japan for the medium to long term.

Foreign workers under the new scheme will be allowed to change their employers under certain conditions, unlike those under the current intern program.

The controversial provision was included in the legislation in anticipation of an increase in foreigners who may be eligible for permanent residence permits.

Under the new rule, the government will give due consideration to past tax and social insurance premium payments and the current living conditions of foreign workers before deciding whether to cancel their permanent residence permits.

The government will also be required to take measures to prevent population outflows from rural areas to large cities that could happen because foreign workers under the new scheme would be allowed to change their employers.

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