Friday, April 26
SOURCE: NHK WORLD JAPAN

Two Cambodian women have become the first to receive a new type of work visa in Japan created under a revised immigration law aimed at accepting more foreign workers.

The Immigration Services Agency said on Friday that it granted the Category-one visa to the women in their 20s to work in the agriculture sector.

The revised law that took effect this month creates two new categories of residential status.

Category-one allows foreigners with vocational skills to work up to five years in 14 fields, such as farming, nursing care and food services.

Tests for applicants for some of the fields have begun.

Foreign workers who complete a three-year government-backed vocational training program can change their visa status to Category-one without a test, if they meet certain conditions.

The Cambodian women are among 27 trainees who applied for the status change.

The agency has drawn up a basic immigration plan. It calls for efforts to create a society that can accommodate foreign nationals as well as eliminate brokers who exploit foreign workers.