The number of foreigners staying in Japan under a new visa for workers with specified skills totaled 3,987 as of the end of March, less than a tenth of the maximum set by the government in the first year of its introduction, immigration authorities said Friday.
The paucity signifies the government's failure to prepare well for the visa system, introduced in April last year in an attempt to bring in more foreign workers to tackle a serious labor shortage resulting from the country's aging population and declining birthrate.
Japan had expected to receive up to 47,550 foreigners under the new visa for so-called specified skilled workers in fiscal 2019.
