“A Tokyo think tank says the nation should replace its discredited national foreigners’ trainee program with a system that invites overseas interns to settle in Japan, which would help solve an immediate labor shortage and an approaching demographic crisis.

The Japan Center for International Exchange, or JCIE, unveiled the proposal on Wednesday, calling it a comprehensive replacement for the Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program, which has been criticized as a source of rights violations.

The think tank advocates granting foreign interns a renewable three-year visa and, after six years, giving them access to long-term or permanent residency. In what is perhaps its most radical recommendation, the group also proposes that Japan establish a new ministry to oversee the program.”

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