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.
The Japan Meteorological Agency says a magnitude-6.7 quake struck the northern part of the country late Tuesday night. No fatalities have been reported. Tsunami advisories issued along the Sea of Japan coast have been lifted.
(NHK) 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says people in the affected areas should remain on the alert.
(NHK) 
The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced Pierre Taki, an actor and member of Japanese techno-pop duo Denki Groove, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for using cocaine.
(Japan Times) 
Almost half of singles in Japan who wish to get married are unable to find a suitable partner, with 61.4 percent of the group stating they are not doing anything to change the situation, a government survey showed Tuesday. (Japan Today) 
A 62-year-old man wanted by police on suspicion of stabbing his former wife in Noboribetsu City, Hokkaido, has been found dead in a forest, police said Monday. (Japan Today) 
Toyota drivers Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Buemi claimed their second consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory Sunday, but only after some bad luck scuttled their sister car's hopes of a win. (Kyodo) 
Police in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, have arrested a 23-year-old woman on suspicion of attempted murder after she abandoned her newborn baby daughter in a business hotel’s toilet. (Japan Today) 
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya apologized Monday to Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake for errors in the ministry’s geographical survey that was used to select the northeastern prefecture as a candidate for hosting a U.S.-developed missile defense system. (Japan Times) 
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten and supermarket chain Seiyu are starting a drone delivery service for summer visitors to an island off Yokosuka, near Tokyo.
(NHK) 
Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a man for allegedly stabbing a police officer and stealing his gun in Suita City on Sunday, reports Fuji News Network (June 17). (tokyoreporter.com)