Japan has ample room to accept more foreign labor to help fill a widening demographic gap, according to Tomomi Inada, a Japanese lawmaker and a former defense minister.
Japan has ample room to accept more foreign labor to help fill a critical and widening demographic gap that threatens its future prosperity, said a key advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.
During an address at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Inada cited Japanese statistics showing that the country's working age population will fall by about 1.1 percent a year over the next 50 years. "Nevertheless, the shortage of workers remains acute," she said, adding the administration has taken"active steps" to bring in workers from overseas through a new law passed by parliament last year, that could see 350,000 new foreign laborers over the next five years.
The issue is a controversial one in Japan, where many worry about the capacity of outsiders to adapt to its language, traditions and customs.
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