Across the industrialized world, far-right parties have come to power through demonizing immigrants and promising to tighten borders. Japan’s right-wing government is just as nationalistic and xenophobic as the rest. But it’s moving in the opposite direction: allowing more immigrant workers.

Last Tuesday, the lower house passed Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s bill to revise Japan’s strict immigration laws and permit more blue-collar workers from overseas to live in the country. The draft legislation would extend work visas to as many as 340,000 immigrant workers over the next five years.

The overhaul could mark a significant shift in a country that has historically been resistant to accepting immigrants. Currently, Japan has 1.3 million foreign workers residing in its borders — just 1 percent of the total population.