Japan approves law to open doors to foreign workers

Japan's ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday blew up legislation allowing more foreign workers to enter the country in a controversial move to tackle the chronic shortage of labor within the archipelago.

The House of Councilors, the Senate, passed the law despite a broad package of opposition parties, after passing it in the House of Representatives last November. The prime minister's political camp is controlled by both houses of parliament.

Under the new law, the government plans to bring in about 345,000 foreign workers in construction, food services, nursing and other sectors over five years.

"We hope to start implementing the law in April next year because we need to quickly launch the new system to address the current shortage of workers," Abe told parliament.

But opposition parties claimed that the law failed to address the potential impact of foreign workers on Japanese society and did not protect their rights.

In an effort to prevent the passage of the law, opposition parties submitted proposals to condemn Abe and Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, but these proposals were easily rejected by the ruling majority.

The law passed for skilled foreign nationals in sectors facing severe labor shortages allows for five-year visas but does not allow them to take their families.

Foreign workers with higher qualifications and passing a Japanese language test will be able to obtain a visa that can be extended indefinitely, which eventually leads to their obtaining accommodation that will enable them to bring their families.

But there were questions as to whether the inflow of foreign workers would lead to a reduction in wages, how these immigrants would be integrated into the Japanese social security system and that they would be exploited.

Many low-skilled foreign workers are in Japan under the so-called "technical training" program, a program that has often been accused of mistreating workers.

"We should not create a new system quickly without reviewing the technical training program where problems are accumulating," opposition legislator Yoshivo Arita told parliament.

Employers are pressing for more flexible immigration laws as they express their suffering in finding workers in a country where the unemployment rate is 2.5 percent.

Workers' chronic denigration is worsening as Japanese society suffers from aging and declining population, which is reflected in a decline in the proportion of workers.