TOKYO (Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network) - The government plans to strengthen support for foreigners seeking jobs in Japanese companies, according to sources.

Envisaged measures include working with the private sector to secure human resources from India, where capable information technology personnel are plentiful, to compete with major US IT companies and other entities vying for such personnel.

According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, Japan has a shortage of about 130,000 IT security personnel and about 15,000 advanced IT experts. The government has therefore found it necessary to increase support for foreign workers.

India has attracted worldwide attention as a valuable source of human resources in the IT field, with the Indian Institutes of Technology producing top-quality workers. Major US IT companies, including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., are currently working to secure human resources from India.

The measures target people with certain skills in IT and other fields, with the government and companies coordinating to help such people find jobs. The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry plans to provide Indian universities and other entities with information on job opportunities at Japanese companies and hold job seminars in India to support people seeking employment in Japan.

The government has also started providing job assistance to foreign people who have moved to Japan as well as foreign students who want to work in Japan.

In March, the labour ministry began offering counseling services in foreign languages at HelloWork offices across the nation. Counseling services are available in a number of languages in addition to English, including Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian