With Japan on track to open its doors wider to foreign workers to address its labor crunch, challenges loom over how to ensure good working environments and integrate people with different languages and cultures into society.

Experts warn that the new visa system, likely to start in April, may end in failure unless authorities take steps to address the problems foreign nationals who currently engage in simple labor in Japan face, such as abuse by employers and isolation within communities.

In particular, the government has faced criticism over the treatment of foreign workers who come from developing countries to serve as technical interns, with human rights violations faced by such laborers highlighted in recent years.