The government released Friday a set of ordinances on how to enlist foreign workers under a new visa system that will start from April, including requiring employers to pay wages equivalent to or higher than those of Japanese nationals.
The move came as Japan, under its revised immigration control law, is set to ease its restrictions on the entry of foreign workers to address serious labor shortages resulting from the nation's aging population and falling birthrate.
"The government will make sure that everything is in place for the launch of the new system," Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, who is overseeing it, told a news conference.