Three-quarters of Japanese companies support opening up the country to more foreign workers in low-skilled jobs to cope with a rapidly worsening labor shortage, a Reuters poll shows — a stark contrast to deep-seated government reluctance to do so.

Japan, one of the world's fastest aging nations, is grappling with an acute lack of workers, especially in industries such as construction, farming and care for the elderly — a shortage that could hamper Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic revival plans.

But Abe's government, rather than taking significant steps to allow in more of the sort of foreign workers who could address those shortages, has focused on relaxing requirements for highly skilled foreigners and has promoted policies that encourage the participation of women and the elderly in the workforce.