Tokyo keen to draw foreign workers to rural Japan

TOKYO -- Japan is bringing in more foreign workers to help address a labor shortage, and the government wants to make sure Tokyo and other major cities are not the only places that benefit from the additional manpower.

The government has introduced a policy package aimed at getting an expected wave of foreign workers to understaffed businesses in rural areas. Japan plans to accept 340,000 workers from overseas over five years under a new visa program.