On June 9th, cabinet ministers approved a comprehensive plan to expand the coverage of a visa program aimed at foreign workers with specified skills. This program effectively allows visa holders to reside in Japan for an indefinite period. Presently, workers under the Class II visa are limited to two industries: construction and shipbuilding. However, the newly approved plan by the Cabinet significantly broadens the scope of eligible industries from two to eleven. These additional industries include food and beverage manufacturing, industrial machinery, and agriculture. The decision to expand the visa program was driven by requests from the business community and aims to facilitate permanent residency for foreign workers across various sectors.   Currently, there are two categories for the "specified skills" visas. Workers with a Class I visa can live in Japan for a maximum of five years but are not permitted to bring their families with them. On the other hand, the Class II ...