Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)–The number of non-Japanese people residing in Japan as specified skilled workers, a category of residency status introduced in April 2019, came to 22,567 as of the end of March, up 44.1 pct from December, the Immigration Services Agency said Tuesday.

The specified skilled worker status is applicable to foreign nationals who work in jobs that require considerable skills in 14 specified industry fields.

No new specified skilled workers came to Japan in February and March, as the country strengthened its novel coronavirus entry restrictions in January.

The increase came as many foreigners changed their residency status from those such as student or technical intern trainee.

Of the 14 industries, the number of specified skilled workers was highest in the food and beverage industry, at 8,104, followed by the agricultural sector, at 3,359, and construction, at 2,116.

By nationality, Vietnamese made up the biggest group of foreigners residing under the specified skilled worker status, at 14,147, followed by Chinese, at 2,050, and Indonesians, at 1,921.

The central prefecture of Aichi had the highest number of such workers, at 2,027, followed by Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, at 1,661, and Tokyo, at 1,417.