"Japan faces an aging society and lacks labor force, while the Philippines is abundant with the young labor force," expressed Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda. 

To solve this challenge of lack of available young talent, Japan is employing a new policy under which it will open its doors to 500,000 foreign workers for the next six years from 2019 to 2025. From the Philippines, it plans to acquire 50,000 workers starting 2019. 

"While we are waiting for the rules and regulations for the new scheme to be released, I personally estimate more than 50,000 workers from the Philippines will come to work in Japan with this new work permit by 2025," Koji Haneda shared. 

The new policy will effectively lift the ban on the recruitment of foreigners for manual labor. 

Japan's government is expected to soon finalize its new rules for giving temporary residence to foreign manual laborers. Under the new residency status, foreign workers in a wider range of industries will be allowed you to stay for 5 years. 

Haneda shared that currently, there are 1,53,600 Filipino workers in Japan, or comprise 12 percent of the total number of foreigners workers in that country. However, most of the Filipinos in Japan belong to highly specialized fields, such as engineering and the academe as Japan currently allows the hiring of only highly-skilled foreign workers. With the new policy, one in 10 job openings starting the summer of 2019 will be filled by a Filipino. 

The new policy will provide more opportunities to the growing number of young talent in the Philippines and many Filipino nurses, shipbuilders, farmers and construction workers will make their way to Japan.