TOKYO -- Japanese staffing service Pasona Group will start introducing foreign workers in the information technology field to work remotely from their countries to Japanese companies, which are suffering from a labor shortage exacerbated by COVID-19 travel restrictions, Nikkei has learned.

Pasona had been introducing hundreds of foreigners annually to Japanese companies before the coronavirus pandemic. About 60% of them lived in Japan, but the rest moved to Japan from their home countries.

Due to travel restrictions under the pandemic, an increasing number of Japanese companies are willing to offer jobs in information technology to foreigners without requiring them to physically move to Japan. Pasona's service will be available even to companies with no offices abroad.

There is a chronic shortage of IT staff in Japan. According to Persol Career, there were 6.4 jobs for one mid-career job seeker in the IT and telecommunications industry in July. The rate is higher than the average of 2.1 jobs across all industries.

Japan's industry ministry estimates that there are over 1 million skilled IT workers in the country. There will be a shortage of up to 790,000 IT workers by 2030.

Pasona wants to start introducing IT workers in India, South Korea and Vietnam, where the company has contacts with local universities and other human resource pools. It eventually aims to introduce 300 people by 2024.

Pasona will either hire the workers through its local branch, or ask them to sign business consignment contracts directly with Japanese companies. Salary and other terms will be aligned to local standards and labor rules.

Another staffing company, Human Resocia, also started hiring workers abroad in countries such as India and Myanmar, for them to work remotely for Japanese companies. The company targets workers in locations within three and a half hours of time difference from Japan, aiming to hire over 200 remote workers by the end of 2023.