(NewsRadio); Japan is looking to recruit additional personnel from Sri Lanka and other South Asia and South East Asian countries to work in farms.
According to Nikkei Asia, farms across Japan are increasingly turning to temporary workers from South Asia and Southeast Asia for help during busy seasons, as a shrinking rural population and aging local workforce stoke labor shortages at home.
Japan introduced its “specified skilled worker” program in April 2019 to attract foreign staff including from Sri Lanka for 12 sectors facing labor shortages.
Workers must pass skill and Japanese language tests.
One category of worker under the program can stay for up to five years but cannot bring their family into the country.
A second category is allowed to remain in Japan for longer and be joined by family members.
Less than 10% of people with “specified skilled worker” status currently work on farms, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
