Apr 02 (Nikkei) - Japan is relaxing work visa requirements in the food service industry to deal with a chronic labor shortage, but the number of workers who can take the first qualification exams will be limited because industry bodies responsible for developing the tests have not had enough time to prepare for the event.
The revised immigration control and refugee recognition act took effect on Monday. It introduces a new visa category that allows foreign workers employed in 14 types of jobs, including nursing care, restaurants and construction, to remain in the country for up to five years.
The agriculture ministry, in cooperation with a trade group, the Japan Foodservice Association, or JF, has devised a skills test to ensure that prospective restaurant workers can do the job. But with limited time to prepare, the first test, scheduled for April, will have only 338 examinees, a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of foreign workers the industry expects to hire in the next few years.
Two more skills tests, one for hotel workers and another for those seeking jobs in nursing care, will also be rolled out in April.
The Organization for Technical Skill Assessment of Foreign Workers in Food Industry, which conducts the exam, released information for test-takers on March 20, subject to final revision by the ministry.
The first round will be held in Tokyo and Osaka. An additional testing site is planned for Vietnam, although details have yet to be finalized. Results will be announced by the end of May.
The 338 test slots available were filled on March 22, the first day of the application period, which had been scheduled to run through March 29. In light of the industry's expected hiring of 53,000 new foreign workers over the next five years, the cap on testing slots was tight. Shinichiro Takaoka, the head of JF, said he has asked for more tests to be held in Japan.
The exam covers hygiene, food and drink preparation and customer service. A study guide published by JF includes basic facts about food poisoning, steps to check the safety of perishable ingredients, the names of cuts of meat and fish, and serving etiquette.
