Permanent residency in Japan to be easier for foreigners with anime-related jobs

Akihabara, a district in Tokyo and also the center of anime and otaku culture. Image: INQUIRER.net stock photo

While life in Japan as depicted in anime is not always true, and though fans are aware of this, a lot of them still dream of working and living in the land of the rising sun.

The Immigration Bureau of Japan has taken notice of this trend and announced upcoming changes to their regulations. The changes would be implemented in 2018 and it will loosen the requirements for permanent residency for people working in anime-related fields, according to a report in Nihon Keizai Shimbun via SoraNews24.

These changes also extend to professionals who work in the field of fashion and other pop culture sectors of the economy. Apparently, the goal is to help promote Japanese culture to the international community through Japan-based foreigners.

This announcement has led some to call the people working in the said industries as “Cool Japan human resources,” in reference to the “Cool Japan” strategy which aims to promote Japanese culture throughout the world.

Earlier in the year, the bureau unveiled a new points-based system that gave highly skilled foreign workers better opportunities to become permanent residents. Through various criteria such as educational attainment, experience in their chosen field and specialization, foreign workers would be awarded points that will be tallied.

The number of points accumulated will then determine what requirement a foreign worker would need to accomplish permanent residency. A highly-skilled individual who scores 80 points will only need to stay in Japan for a year to become eligible for permanent residency, while 70 points will require three years, and so on.

But before any excitement, one year of working in Japan is still a prerequisite before applying for permanent residency. On the other hand, this should be an easy obstacle for a determined and skilled anime fan to overcome. Alfred Bayle/JB/rga

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