To deal with a shortage of pilots, the government has drastically eased flight time requirements for non-Japanese to work as pilots or co-pilots for the country's airlines.

With the change, made Monday, qualified non-Japanese will be eligible to work as co-pilots or pilots if they have at least 250 hours of flight experience — the same level usually needed in Japan to be hired to serve as co-pilots — compared with the previously needed 1,000 hours.

As of January last year, non-Japanese pilots and co-pilots accounted for about 7 percent, or 432 people, of the total at 16 major Japanese airline companies, according to the transport ministry.

A massive number of pilots in Japan are likely to reach retirement age around 2030, while many countries around the world are suffering pilot shortages.

An official at the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said easing the requirement for acquiring residential status will not affect the safety of airline operations.

"Even if the flight time requirement is eased, airlines will conduct necessary training after hiring the foreigners," the official said.