Indonesian bus driver to be first to work under new Japan visa status

East Asian nation faces growing need for foreign labor

Iyus, an Indonesian who came to Japan in 2013, is expected to start work as a bus driver in April after the nation extended the scope of a skilled worker visa to encompass road transportation. © Kyodo

February 22, 2025 15:28 JST

OKAYAMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- An Indonesian man will be the first to take advantage of Japan extending the scope of its specified skilled worker visa to encompass the road transportation sector when he begins work as a bus driver in fiscal 2025.

Iyus, 40, who came to Japan in 2013, attended a language school and worked at a travel agency before joining Tokyo-based Nikko Kanko Bus Co.