The Japanese government plans to expand the scope of foreign university students eligible for scholarships from April to provide more academic opportunities to children of the country’s growing number of foreign workers. The education ministry will target students residing in Japan with their parents under a “dependent” visa, provided they have completed elementary, junior high, and high school education in Japan and intend to work and stay in the country after graduating. 

The Japan Student Services Organization expects around 500 to 1,000 students to be newly eligible for the scholarships which come in the form of grants or loans. Lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and civic groups have called for an expansion to secure foreign labor amid the declining population.