The nation's hotel operators and real estate firms are ramping up their hiring of foreign workers to capitalize on booming in-bound tourism and increasing property investment from wealthy overseas buyers.

Liang I-ting, a Taiwanese clerk, greets guests in Chinese, Japanese and English at an Apa Group hotel near JR Nippori Station, which is close to Ueno, one of Tokyo's more popular tourist destinations.

After studying Japanese at a Taiwanese university, the 36-year-old became a flight attendant for a local airline. Liang started working at the hotel last December.