Japan's parliament on Friday enacted revised laws to replace the controversial foreign trainee program, which has been criticized as a cover for importing cheap labor. Japan seeks to ensure foreign workers will stay on longer in a bid to address an acute labor shortage in a rapidly greying society.

Under the new system, workers will be able to move after working in a job for one year provided their Japanese language and professional skills meet certain requirements.

The relaxation has caused concern among regional firms struggling with personnel shortages that they could lose staff to companies in urban areas...

Individuals with knowledge of the system say its limits on workers changing jobs have had a negative effect on the economy. One described it as a "drug" that has "fostered a society unable to extricate itself from low wages."

But individuals can be limited to working in the same industry for up to two years if they are deemed to require further professional development provided that employers improve their situation at work, such as through pay rises, on the second year.

While the government initially planned to allow workers to switch jobs if they had been working for a year or more, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed the two-year limit to ease concerns among rural communities over losing talent.

The limit sparked criticism in the Diet that making it easier to switch jobs under the scheme is impractical and "does not guarantee opportunities to change work."

Kiyoto Tanno, a professor in labor sociology at Tokyo Metropolitan University, said that the "ability to choose your place of employment is a worker's right, meaning controls on changing jobs must be removed."

"By normalizing labor movement, companies will be encouraged to improve their offering and invest in provisions to secure talent, which will bring about better productivity across society," he said.