Tougher criteria suggested for visas06/01/2006THE ASAHI SHIMBUNA Justice Ministry panel has recommended Japanese language proficiency as a condition for long-term visa renewals and ending a special visa program for foreigners of Japanese ancestry. The panel's report released Tuesday said decisions to allow foreigners to continue working here should be based on their qualifications as well as the results of a Japanese language test. It said the criteria should also apply to foreigners hoping to work here. In addition, the report said Japan should not accept any more people for the special visas that allow descendants of Japanese, known as nikkeijin, to engage in all kinds of work, including unskilled labor. However, the panel did not specify how or when to put its plan into practice. It also did not specify which visas should be affected. About 265,000 foreigners on long-term visas were registered in Japan at the end of 2005. About half were Brazilian. The next largest groups were Chinese and Filipinos. The special visa program for foreign descendants of Japanese was introduced after the immigration control law was revised in 1989. At that time, Japan was in the midst of its bubble economy and facing a labor shortage. But critics say the system has been exploited, and that groups overseas are faking registration and family documents to help unqualified people gain these special visas. The Justice Ministry's panel also suggested abolishing the "technical training system," which was set up to promote technical transfers to developing countries by allowing foreign workers to experience work in Japan. This program has been criticized for providing cheap labor for unscrupulous companies.(IHT/Asahi: June 1,2006)