Japan Approves Guidelines To Upskill Foreign Workers

The Japanese government has approved new guidelines for a revamped plan aimed at training foreign workers as skilled professionals.

The guidelines are targeted at being crucial for providing an attractive working environment for international talent. I Photo: Kyodo News

Set to launch in 2027, the initiative seeks to address Japan’s chronic labor shortage, Japan Times reporter Kanako Takahara wrote.

The new program will replace the existing foreign trainee system, which has faced criticism for poor working conditions and for using participants as cheap labor, Takahara noted.

“The labor shortage in our country is getting worse,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said during a ministerial meeting. “As global competition for foreign workers intensifies, these guidelines are crucial for providing an attractive working environment for international talent.”