Japan plans to start accepting foreign workers again for meal services at hospitals, care homes and schools from next April as an emergency step, the Japan Times reports. New intake under the restaurant category of the Type 1 specified skills visa was halted in April as numbers neared the 50,000 cap, but staff shortages in institutional kitchens have since worsened.
The government will move these jobs into the food and beverage production category, which has a limit of 133,500 and was 76% full at the end of July. It also wants to raise the cap for elderly care by 20,000. The cabinet is expected to approve the plan in December.
Source: The Japan Times
