In the multiple-response survey, 56.8 % of companies said foreign workers were employed with the expectation that they will perform as well or better than Japanese staff, while 18.5 % pointed to efforts to promote diversity, according to the labour ministry survey released earlier this week.

The survey of companies with foreign workers that have five or more employees, conducted in October and November 2023, received responses from 3,534 businesses and 11,629 workers, the report said.