The move by Narita International Airport Corp. comes as the country aims to attract 40 million visitors by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics. By 2030, it aims to grow this to 60 million.
Japan’s largest international gateway, Narita airport, is hiring more foreign workers as the country copes with the rising influx of tourists.
The move by Narita International Airport Corp. comes as the country aims to attract 40 million visitors by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics. By 2030, it aims to grow this to 60 million.
The airport is Japan’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic. In 2017, of the 28.7 million visitors to Japan, 29% entered via Narita airport.
Faced with a growing number of international visitors, the airport has over the years hired foreign staff from countries including China, South Korea and Sri Lanka, The Japan Times reported. Biseisha Co., the company contracted to Narita airport, now employs 35 foreigners out of the company’s 300 workers.
The transport ministry is also considering creating a new visa status to expand foreign employment at airports nationwide to counter expected labour shortages. The visa will be applicable to specific jobs such as ground handling.
From 2012 to fiscal 2016, the number of international passengers using Japanese airports has grown 1.4 times, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
To accommodate continued growth, Narita is seeking to expand capacity by adding a third runway — a plan that will raise the number of workers needed at the airport to 70,000 from the current 40,000.