Japan is set to revise its working program for fourth-generation foreign nationals of Japanese descent and offer permanent residency to individuals who fulfill certain language requirements, immigration agency officials said Tuesday.
The change to the program introduced in 2018 and aimed at helping develop human resources familiar with the cultures of their home countries and Japan comes following low uptake among those eligible as well as calls to ease its conditions on the maximum age of applicants and period of stay in Japan.
Under the current provisions, fourth-generation Japanese abroad age 18 to 30 are eligible to work in the country under a designated activities visa. The maximum period of stay is five years, and their families are not allowed to join them.