Number of foreign students in Japan gaining work visas after graduation hits record high
- A total of 25,942 students switched their status of residence last year to those required to land a job in Japan
- The figure reflected a surge in demand from companies for foreign workers amid manpower shortage
A total of 25,942 students switched their status of residence last year to those required to land a job in Japan, up 3,523 from a year earlier, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
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The figure more than doubled from 2013, apparently reflecting overall growth in the number of overseas students and surging demand from companies for foreign workers to deal with a labour crunch caused by Japan’s ageing population and falling birth rate.
By type of status, “engineer, specialist in humanities, international services,” under which foreigners can take such jobs as engineers and accountants, accounted for 93.2 per cent of work visas, while “business manager” comprised 2.2 per cent and “professor” 2.1 per cent.
In May, the agency revised a Justice Ministry notification to allow foreigners who have graduated from universities or completed postgraduate studies in Japan to work at restaurants and retail shops under the “Designated Activities” status of residence.
Previously, graduates of Japanese universities from overseas were not allowed to work in the services sector on the grounds that jobs in the industry were irrelevant to their expertise.
