Oct 26 (Japan Times) - A record 2,829,416 foreign people were registered as residents at the end of June as more and more technical interns and workers enter Japan amid a severe labor shortage, government data showed Friday.
The figure was up 3.6 percent from the previous high set at the end of last year, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
Technical trainees totaled 367,709, eclipsing the 336,847 students. Other work-linked visa holders also saw a sharp rise in numbers, the agency said.
Those arriving on visas for engineers and international services stood at 256,414, up 13.6 percent, while 13,038 — up 17.9 percent — entered under visas for highly skilled professionals.
Those arriving with the new visa status created in April for blue-collar workers stood at just 20, though the number who acquiring this status had risen to 616 as of Oct. 18.
