The Tottori Prefectural Government on Monday appointed a South Korean resident of Japan as a full-time civil servant, becoming the first prefectural government to do so.
Ahn Young Mi, 30, who has been working as a part-time employee for the international section of the prefectural government, was hired as a full-time public servant, prefectural officials said.
The prefectural government has abolished a requirement that such employees have Japanese citizenship.
Ahn, who was born in Japan, passed an examination for the international division for applicants with working experience in private companies.
She will work as an interpreter and handle duties related to Sea of Japan rim exchange programs, the prefectural officials said.
Although many municipal governments have opened posts to non-Japanese by waiving the nationality requirement clause, no prefectural government had previously done so.
The nationality clause was established in 1953, based on a decree by the Cabinet Legislation Bureau requiring Japanese nationality for "public servants wielding administrative authority or having the power to influence public opinion."