The Justice Ministry will effectively ease requirements for qualified Indian information technology experts to enter Japan for working purposes, the ministry announced Friday.
The announcement followed a basic policy recently adopted by the government to increase the number of foreign technological professionals by 30,000 within the next five years to keep pace with the global IT revolution.
Justice Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters Friday that the ministry has already sent an official notice to regional immigration offices stating that Indians who are qualified by their government as IT experts fall under the category of technologists -- one of the foreigners' statuses of residence in Japan.
The qualification in question, which is promoted by the Indian IT ministry, is granted to people who are trained at certain private IT educational institutes other than universities and pass a proficiency examination.
Those who have cleared the top three out of four levels of the qualification are equivalent to a university graduate and qualified to enter a graduate school, and thus can obtain the technologist status of residence here from now on, Komura said.
Meanwhile, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry mutually acknowledged with their Indian counterparts Friday that India's IT qualifying examination is on the same level as Japan's exam on information processing technologists.
"These measures enable us to objectively evaluate the ability of qualified Indian IT experts and help them swiftly enter our country," Komura said. "I hope their working opportunities increase here and human exchanges between Japan and India accelerate."