The Japanese government on February 29 relaxed visa regulations to expand the scope of foreign students allowed to stay and find jobs in Japan, in response to calls from the country's business and academic sectors.
According to Kyodo, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISAJ) said the government will allow more students who have completed their studies at technical schools to stay and work, not necessarily closely related to their major. According to ISAJ, with this new measure, the number of foreign students staying in Japan to work is expected to increase by about 3,000 each year.
The ISAJ said state-designated technical schools will offer special programs, including hands-on training at companies. The government is also expanding the scope of foreign students who can stay in Japan to work under a "designated activities" visa, a different residency status that allows work in a wider range of areas. The visa was previously only available to university or graduate school graduates, not to graduates of technical schools. Now, students with advanced Japanese language skills and academic records equivalent to a bachelor's degree, including those who have completed a four-year program at a designated technical school, can stay in Japan to work.
According to a survey conducted by the Japan Student Services Organization in fiscal 2021, of the 2,000 foreign students studying at technical schools in Japan, about 75% said they wanted to stay and work.
KHANH MINH
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