Tokyo: Authorities in Japan are considering ordering language tests for foreigners who want to live and work here, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said today.

The measure would help improve social integration, officials believe, at a time when more and more companies are seeking to bring in cheap labour.

"Knowing Japanese is necessary to increase the quality of life of foreigners living in Japan," Komura told reporters. "It would be good if there were more opportunities for them to study Japanese in their countries of origin."

He said the requirement would prevent situations in which foreign workers and trainees in Japan were unable to receive government help because of their language deficiency.

The justice ministry, which handles immigration, and the foreign ministry are expected to begin talks this month on what level of Japanese proficiency is required and how to test it, Komura said without giving further details.

Currently, foreigners seeking entry visas or long-term residency are not required to speak Japanese. Japan sees itself as largely homogeneous and has rejected large-scale immigration, even though the population is declining as the Japanese have fewer children.

But a growing number of companies seeking cheap labour have used a loophole to bring in "trainees," mostly from developing nations in Asia. A record 93,000 foreign trainees entered Japan in 2006.

A government survey last year found only 10 per cent of Japanese who live in areas with many foreigners want to engage with them more, while 56 per cent of foreigners wanted more interaction. 

Source : PTI