The outline, featuring the establishment of two new types of residence status, was shown to related cabinet ministers in a meeting held at the prime minister's office for discussing measures to increase foreign workers in Japan as a way to tackle the country's serious labor shortages.

The ministers agreed on a plan to submit bills to revise related laws based on the outline, including the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, to an extraordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, to be convened on Oct. 24.

"As labor shortages are growing more serious, we urgently need to create a structure for accepting a wide range of work-ready human resources from abroad," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at the meeting.

Type one status, which will allow residence for up to five years, will be granted to foreign nationals with "considerable levels of knowledge and experience," as well as Japanese language skills adequate for everyday conversation. Families of holders of this status will not be allowed to accompany them to Japan in principle.