A Justice Ministry panel discussing long-term policies for accepting foreigners in Japan proposed Tuesday that the government in principle require that foreign workers have a certain level of Japanese proficiency.
The language requirement should also apply to foreign nationals of Japanese descent who come to Japan on a special visa, it said in an interim package of proposals.
The panel said people who already have the Japanese ancestry visa should also be subject to the language requirement after a certain period of time. Although basic work visas are issued for specific jobs that requires particular qualifications, the ancestry visa permits engaging in any type of work, including manual labor.