The House of Councillors approved a bill revising the immigration law during a plenary session before dawn on Saturday, with support mainly coming from the ruling parties.
The passage of the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law -- the largest point of contention in the current extraordinary Diet session -- marks a major shift in the government's policy to expand acceptance of foreign workers.
The revised law is scheduled to take effect April 1 of next year. The government anticipates accepting up to 345,150 overseas workers across 14 industries over the five years starting in fiscal 2019.
The pillar of the revision is the creation of new residence statuses for foreign workers with specific skills.
Work visas, which have only been granted to doctors, lawyers and other highly skilled professionals, will be granted to foreign workers in professions that do not require advanced skills.
Meanwhile, many industries are adopting a wait-and-see approach to the new category 2 status for workers with advanced skills, so the category 2 status will be likely underutilized for the time being after the revised law comes into effect.
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