Japan to loosen work rules on foreigners stuck due to pandemic

FILE PHOTO: Office workers wearing protective masks, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, work at a business building in Tokyo, Japan November 27, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is loosening regulations on part-time work for foreigners stuck in the country due to the novel coronavirus and having trouble supporting themselves, the government said on Tuesday.

While temporary, the measures - which take effect from Tuesday - are a liberalisation of labour curbs on foreigners in an aging economy suffering from huge shortages of workers but where the ruling party has been reluctant to embrace a full-fledged immigration reform.