The Japanese government said it would set up a new policy to attract foreign talent. Professionals with a master’s degree and an annual income of more than 20 million yen (about RM 660,000) can apply for permanent residence (permanent residency) after living in Japan for one year.
According to the Central News Agency, the Japanese government held a cabinet meeting on February 17 about bringing in talented people from other countries. At that meeting, it was decided to set up a new admissions system to bring in more people from different countries who are good at essential knowledge or technology.
Getting residence status for “highly specialized jobs” is hard right now. Still, Japan will set up a new “Special Highly Qualified Person System” that will give the status of residence to those who have a master’s degree and an annual income of more than 20 million yen or who have worked for more than ten years and have a yearly income of 20 million yen. With more than ten years of work experience and an annual revenue of at least 20 million yen, they were approved to become permanent residents and given special treatment.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the Chief Cabinet Secretary and a spokesman for the Japanese government said at the meeting that he hopes to bring in highly qualified foreign talent as quickly and smoothly as possible.
According to the report, Japan’s current system for attracting foreign talent started in 2012. Foreigners who reach a certain level are given the status of “Highly Specialized Job” No. 1 for five years. After three years, they are moved to “Highly Specialized Job” No. 2. After three years. The status will change to “Highly Specialized Job No. 2,” which lets the person stay in Japan for as long as they want.
At the end of June last year, the Immigration Bureau said that 16,131 people had “Highly Specialized Job” No. 1 and 1,068 had “Highly Specialized Job” No. 2.
The new policy, which will start in April, is based on two main points: First, it adds more requirements for getting the “Highly Specialized Job” residence status and sets up better conditions. At the moment, highly skilled people who live in Japan get points based on their academic experience and research accomplishments. They can stay there permanently if they reach a certain number of issues.
Foreigners usually must live in Japan for at least ten years to get permanent residency. However, “highly specialized workers” can apply for permanent residence in the country after only 3 or 1 year. Suppose the new requirement of a high salary is met. In that case, more foreigners will be able to get permanent residency in a short amount of time.
Japan is making the system bigger by keeping the points system and creating a new one. Researchers and technicians must have “a master’s degree or higher and an annual income of more than 20 million yen” or “more than ten years of work experience and an annual income of more than 20 million yen.” If you own a business, you must have “more than five years of experience and an annual income of 40 million yen.”
Those who meet the above requirements will be considered “Special Highly Qualified Persons” and will be able to apply for permanent residency in Japan after living there for one year. One foreign domestic worker can be replaced by two, and the spouse’s job can be full-time.
The Japanese government is also looking for talented young people who graduated from one of the top 100 universities in the world to work for Japanese companies. These young people can apply for a “specific activity” visa, allowing them to stay for two years instead of the current 90 days.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that Yasushi Yamawaki, an immigration lawyer, said that the low salary level in Japan compared to Europe and the U.S. is a bigger problem for foreigners than getting the right qualifications. Professional salaries in Japan are low compared to those in other big countries. For example, people who work in the information and communication industry in Japan make an average of US$40,000 per year (about RM177,000).
Japan is ranked 25th out of 35 countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its 2019 list of international talent.
