Japanese farms are recruiting workers from Sri Lanka and other countries in South and Southeast Asia, reports Colombo Gazette, citing Nikkei Asia. Farms across Japan are increasingly turning to temporary workers from Southeast Asia and beyond for help during the busy seasons, as a shrinking rural population and ageing local workforce stoke labour shortages at home.

Japan introduced its ‘specified skilled worker’ program in April 2019 to attract foreign staff for 12 sectors facing labor shortages. Workers must pass skill and Japanese language tests. One category of worker under the program can stay for up to five years but cannot bring their family into the country. A second category is allowed to remain in Japan for longer and be joined by family members. Less than 10% of people with “specified skilled worker” status currently work on farms, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.

Japanese staffing firm Persol Holdings in March launched a service to send foreign workers to farms for seasonal jobs such as harvesting. As well as Indonesia and Southeast Asia, Persol also hopes to recruit workers from South Asian countries like India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “Using ‘specified skilled workers’ will allow Japanese farmers to build networks with their foreign counterparts. Our short-term goal is to make up for labour shortages, but we also want to help Japanese farmers advance overseas in the medium- and long-term,” Morihiro Tada, CEO of Persol Global Workforce, a unit of Persol Holdings.