TOKYO -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday announced plans to accept more workers from abroad to ease Japan's labor shortages. But the country has a long way to go to facilitate their social integration through language programs and other measures.
The government plans to create a new type of work permit next April for five severely undermanned sectors, including construction, agriculture and nursing care. It seeks to attract more than 500,000 foreign workers by 2025 by opening Japan's doors also to unskilled laborers, who generally have not been granted work permits.
