The number of people in Japan on the new visa for specified skills was 3,987 as of the end of March, less than a tenth of the maximum set by the government for its first year of use, immigration data released Friday shows.

The lack of takers signifies a lack of government preparation. The new visa was introduced in April last year in an attempt to lure more workers to offset the national labor shortage caused by the rapidly graying population and declining birthrate.

Japan had expected up to 47,550 to enter under the new visa for so-called specified skilled workers in fiscal 2019.