The government is set to introduce a new residence status next year that will allow fourth-generation Japanese living abroad to work in the country, a Justice Ministry source said Thursday.

It expects several thousand youths with Japanese roots from countries like Brazil and Peru who fulfill certain requirements to enter the country annually. Many Japanese immigrated to Latin America in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The government hopes the program will help develop an improved relationship between Japan and the participants' home countries but concern remains some may be exploited as cheap labor.

The government plans to introduce the system by the end of March at the earliest after taking public input, the source said.

Those eligible for the program are aged 18 to 30 and should be able to understand conversational Japanese equivalent to the "N4" level under the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

They can stay in Japan for up to five years under the program, with their status renewed every year if their level of Japanese meets improvement benchmarks.

Participants in the program will not be allowed in principle to be accompanied by family and will be required to have some support from relatives, a host family or an employer in Japan.

The number of Japanese Brazilians and Japanese Peruvians in Japan declined from 364,000 in 2007 to around 222,000 in 2016, with critics blaming the global financial crisis in 2008 and the massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in March 2011 for reduced employment opportunities.

Currently, second- and third-generation Japanese immigrants can stay long-term and work freely after meeting certain conditions, while fourth-generation people can get preferred treatment only when they are single, younger than 20 and live with a parent or parents of the third generation, according to the ministry.