While Japan's unemployment rate is hovering at its worst level in the postwar era and manufacturers are shifting production abroad for cheaper labor, foreign workers seem to be enjoying their share of demand.
To meet a growing demand for labor in sectors that include information technology, the government plans to ease visa conditions to increase the number of skilled foreign workers.
The move came after an advisory panel to the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi urged the government in January 2000 to overhaul its rigid immigration policy to encourage more foreigners to work in Japan.