Japan’s MPs to vote on bill opening door to foreign workers

Japan’s lawmakers are set to approve legislation that would officially open the door to foreign workers doing unskilled jobs and the possibility of eventually becoming citizens. The MPs were due to vote late Friday on a government proposal to allow hundreds of thousands of foreign laborers to live and work in a country that has long resisted accepting outsiders, AP reported. The move is unavoidable as the country’s population rapidly ages and shrinks. Many short-handed industries, especially in the services sector, already rely heavily on foreign “trainees” and language students. Japan also selectively grants visas to white-collar professionals, often from the West.