The operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is seeking to more than double the number of its foreign employees by the end of the year to beef up multilingual services amid a rising number of inbound tourists.
USJ LLC aims to hire 200 people from abroad such as South Korea and Taiwan for a year on working holiday programs, which allow young people to visit and work in partner countries and regions.
As of January, approximately 180 foreign nationals were working at the popular amusement park in western Japan, the park operator said.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan jumped more than sixfold from the previous year to 25.07 million in 2023, on the back of the removal of border restrictions related to COVID-19 and a weak yen.
The company will recruit foreign nationals who meet certain criteria, such as Japanese-language skills, through temporary staffing agencies, to work at eateries in the park for the time being.
The company held a briefing session in Taiwan in December, while online sessions targeting people in South Korea were held in late March as well.
Nine workers from Taiwan received job training last month on how to serve customers and take on other restaurant duties.
They started working in late March after going through additional training sessions and observing operations at Super Nintendo World, an area particularly popular among foreign visitors.
"I would like to provide great services to park guests by making the most of my knowledge," said a 27-year-old employee from Taiwan, who is well-versed in English, Chinese and Japanese.
Japanese employees carry translation devices, but the USJ operator decided that foreign workers were necessary to raise the satisfaction levels of guests from overseas.
"We will push forward the hiring and nurturing (of foreign employees) by focusing on quality," said Takanobu Okawara of the company's human resources department.
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