Japan Growth Strategy Dependent on Foreign Workers

The government plans to set up a headquarters within the Cabinet to work out measures by the end of fiscal 2015 for accepting more foreign workers in Japan, a draft schedule for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new growth strategy showed Monday.

The growth strategy to be compiled later this month eyes laying out necessary rules to allow foreigners to engage in broader types of jobs in sectors such as nursing care and in longer periods, according to the draft obtained by Kyodo News.

A midterm strategy on the issue for fiscal 2016 and on will be decided through discussions among relevant ministries, the draft says.

As a first step, foreign workers will be allowed to work as housekeepers this year in the newly created “strategic special zones” which promote deregulations and tax breaks, while qualified foreign students will also be able to work.

At present, limited kinds of jobs are permitted for foreigners, such as those in research, culinary arts or other areas that require high skills.

But the government faces the need to make up for a falling working population amid a decreasing birthrate and aging society to avoid economic slowdown.

The draft also envisions legislation within this year to promote the use of private-sector funds for infrastructure development.

via Mainichi

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza