The government plans to start technical tests for foreign workers with specific skills to obtain a new residence status, called Category 1, from April next year in three industries -- nursing care, the hotel business and food service -- ahead of other industries.
Similar tests will be given in 11 more industries as soon as they are ready.
Relatively easy jobs are expected for workers with Category 1 status. Applicants must pass both technical and Japanese proficiency tests to qualify for the status. However, those who have undergone at least three years of technical training in Japan can switch to this status without taking the tests, as an exceptional move.
Under this move, many people working as foreign interns in such fields as agriculture and construction, in which a technical intern training system has been established, are expected to switch their status to Category 1 from next April and keep working in Japan. The government estimates that those who switch their status from technical intern to Category 1 will account for 45 percent of the total foreign workers to be accepted for the new status.
Meanwhile, a technical intern training system does not exist in the hotel and food service industries, while the nursing industry introduced the system only in November last year. Under the circumstances, those industries would not be able to count on industry-ready "status switchers" so they instead will carry out advanced implementation of skill tests for the Category 1 status in order to secure personnel.
The government's Japanese proficiency test will be conducted in the applicants' native countries. The standard for passing will be whether test-takers can understand the contents of short texts on topics regarding day-to-day life, such as shopping and taking out the trash. By setting the level of the test relatively low, the government aims to keep foreign workers from feeling reluctant to come to Japan because of difficulties in understanding Japanese. Applicants can prove their language skill based on the existing Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, too.
The Category 2 residence status, which requires higher skills, is expected to be created in two industries: construction and shipbuilding. The government envisions that some of the Category 1 workers will apply for the Category 2 after gaining experience. It is expected "to take until about two years from now for the first successful applicants emerge," according to a government official. The remaining 12 industries passed on the creation of the Category 2 status for the time being, because they need more time to prepare for a skill test and took a cautious stance.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
