Japan to welcome 500,000 foreign workers to help plug labor shortage

In a sign the country is opening up its insular job market, the Japanese government decided Tuesday to welcome more than 500,000 foreign workers through fiscal 2025 to offset the labor shortage in industries such as agriculture and construction.The move will be written into Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new economic policy outline due out in mid-June, with the necessary legal revisions to be submitted to parliament this autumn.Foreign workers will be allowed to stay in Japan for five years under a new framework that covers five industries -- agriculture, construction, lodging, nursing and shi…READ FULL ARTICLE