Nearly half of cities and towns across Japan are concerned about how to appropriately deal with to foreign workers as they prepare for an influx starting this spring due to a new government policy aimed at addressing a chronic labor shortage, a survey conducted by Kyodo News showed Sunday.

But the survey, covering all of Japan's more than 1,700 municipalities, also found that 47 percent of them are in favor of having more workers from abroad, as many companies continue to struggle with a labor crunch amid the country's aging population and falling birthrate.

Japan will introduce a new visa system in April as part of efforts to attract more foreign workers for the country's labor-hungry sectors, including nursing care, construction, farming and restaurants.