Japan set to allow Ukrainian refugees to work on arrival

The Japanese government will allow Ukrainian evacuees displaced by Russia’s invasion to work after they are accepted into the country, the Justice Minister confirmed on Tuesday.

Evacuees who are granted short-term residency for 90 days when entering Japan will be permitted to extend their visas to “designated activities” status for the period of one year.

The change will give them residency and the legal right to engage in work, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said. “We will flexibly respond to the visa status, sufficiently taking into consideration the situation facing the evacuees,” Furukawa told a press conference.

Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Korsunsky and others had previously called on Japan to allow the evacuees to work.

Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government is “urgently considering the response of the whole government,” such as extending support measures to secure the evacuees’ accommodations, supply daily necessities, and help them get jobs and study in Japan.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed Furukawa and other related ministers to prepare measures to assist evacuees fleeing from Ukraine, Matsuno said.

The government will work with firms and local governments who have announced their intention to accept the evacuees and study measures based on requests of people who want to evacuate to Japan, Matsuno said.

Ukrainians coming to Japan in the future will also be granted short-term residency when entering and allowed to change their status at a later date, the government said.

Kishida said earlier this month that the government will first allow in people who have fled Ukraine and have relatives or acquaintances in Japan, but the door will also be opened to those who do not, given the extreme humanitarian situation.