Japan to allow residents from Myanmar to extend stay

Japan says it will allow residents from Myanmar to stay an additional six months as an emergency measure as a violent military-led crackdown continues in the Southeast Asian country

TOKYO -- Japan will allow residents from Myanmar to stay an additional six months as an emergency measure as a violent military-led crackdown continues in the Southeast Asian country, officials said Friday. The measure covers 35,045 Myanmar nationals living in Japan, including 13,963 working under a government-sponsored internship program, according to the Immigration Services Agency. Those aiming to obtain “specified skilled worker” status can extend their stay up to a year, it said. The new category was created in 2019 as Japan increasingly relies on foreign workers to make up for its aging and declining workforce. The government also said two Myanmar diplomats in Tokyo who were dismissed by their country’s military junta for supporting the anti-coup movement can keep their diplomatic visas issued by the ousted government of Aung San Suu Kyi.