Japan's House of Representatives on Tuesday cleared a bill to reform the controversial foreign trainee program to encourage workers from abroad to stay longer through a new system amid a serious labor shortage in the aging country.As the new system would help increase the number of permanent residence permits, the bill includes provisions to revoke such status if the residents deliberately avoid paying taxes or social insurance premiums, drawing opposition from some supporters of foreign workers.The current Technical Intern Training Program, introduced in 1993 as a way to transfer skills to…READ FULL ARTICLE
