Japan may not allow foreign delinquents to stay

Nov 10, 2018 | News On Japan

Nov 10, 2018 (NHK) - Japan's justice minister says foreign workers who don't pay their social insurance premiums may be kicked out of the country.

Takashi Yamashita's comment came during a discussion of a bill to revise the immigration control law at a Lower House committee meeting on Friday.

Yamashita indicated that his ministry intends to work with the labor and other ministries to hammer out specifics.

The bill submitted to the Diet earlier this month would allow foreign workers with certain vocational skills to get work permits.

It's a major shift from Japan's traditional policy of focusing mainly on highly skilled professionals.

Yamashita said the legislation would allow small and medium-sized companies suffering acute labor shortages to hire workers from overseas.

The minister also said it's important to ensure that Japan's social insurance systems be appropriately applied to foreign workers.

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