Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s office on June 9. (Koichi Ueda)

Cabinet ministers on June 9 approved a plan to significantly expand the number of industries covered by a visa for foreign workers with specified skills that effectively allows the holders to reside in Japan indefinitely.

Currently, workers under the Class II visa are limited to two fields, construction and shipbuilding.

The plan approved by the Cabinet expands the number of fields from two to 11, and includes food and beverage manufacturing, industrial machinery and agriculture.

The increase, prompted by requests from the business community, paves the way to permanent residency for foreign workers in various fields.

Currently, there are two categories for the "specified skills" visas.

Workers with a Class I visa are allowed to live in Japan for up to five years but cannot bring families with them.

The Class II visa requires proficient skills. The holders can live in the country indefinitely by renewing the status, as well as bringing family members with them.

Japan introduced the program to grant residency to skilled foreign workers in April 2019 to cope with the domestic manpower shortage.

According to the Justice Ministry, as of the end of March, the number of Class I visa holders exceeded 150,000, while Class II visa workers remained at only 11. 

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