Japan enjoys high retention of skilled foreign workers, study shows

Joint OECD report calls on country to relax residency and work restrictions

20240530N Foreign workers

Foreigners make up only 2.4% of Japan's population, a far lower level than many Western countries. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)

MASATOSHI IDA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Highly skilled foreign workers tend to stay longer in Japan than those working in other economically advanced nations, but their small share in the population suggests the need for further deregulation, a recent study says.

About 40% of foreigners who came to Japan between 2011 and 2017 with highly skilled professional status stayed for at least five years, according to the report. This is higher than the Netherlands' 35% and Germany's 25%, and is a "high level internationally," said Yu Korekawa, of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) in Tokyo.

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