Japan may allow foreign nationals to work under its specified skilled worker program at restaurants in hotels licensed under the entertainment business law in response to severe labor shortages, sources said Friday.

Specifically, the government is considering allowing foreign workers under the program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants at ryokan Japanese-style inns and hotels, while maintaining a ban on them pouring drinks for customers, the sources said.

The government plans to soon present the idea to a panel of experts. If approved, the government aims to revise its field-specific implementation guidelines for the program based on the immigration control law as early as spring.

The program allows foreign workers to stay in the country for the medium to long term. Type 1 workers with certain skills and experience can work in 16 fields for a stay of up to five years, while Type 2 workers with higher skill levels, who can work in 11 fields, can stay in Japan indefinitely.

The restaurant industry is included in both types, but foreign nationals under the program are in principle not allowed to work at restaurants licensed under the entertainment business law, in order to ensure a safe working environment for them.

Many inns and hotels have licenses under the law so that they can entertain guests, including with geisha dances and other performances.

Amid a spike in visitors to Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages are growing at restaurants at inns and hotels.

Against that background, the All Japan Ryokan Hotel Association and other organizations have called for easing regulations on foreign workers.