Shinki Bus hires a Chinese driver with specific skills and makes his debut on the Himeji Castle Loop Bus

This month, a Chinese male driver with a ``Specified Skilled Worker'' residence status made his debut as a driver for a route bus operated by Shinki Bus (headquartered in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture). The company, which is facing the problem of a shortage of drivers, believes that recruiting foreign personnel is essential to maintaining the regional transportation network, and this is the first time it has attempted such a move.

"This bus leaves at 10:00 a.m. and is a Himeji Castle loop bus. Please be careful not to board the wrong bus."

On the morning of the 16th, on a bus that stopped in front of JR Himeji Station, Mr. Xu Kai (42), sitting in the driver's seat, made an announcement to the passengers in fluent Japanese.

The company is in charge of a 4.2km line that starts at Himeji Station and runs counterclockwise around Himeji Castle. After setting off, he completed his first lap smoothly, driving on roads without a center line and giving way to ambulances that came from behind.

Mr. Xu will be behind the wheel of a route bus starting on the 4th of this month. ``The roads in Japan are narrower than in China, and there are many telephone poles, making it difficult to drive.When I actually drive with passengers on board, I feel a new sense of responsibility.''

Xu, a native of Xiangyang in China's Hubei province, mainly worked at an electronic circuit board factory and helped out at a restaurant run by a relative. He started studying Japanese on his own around 2020, and came to Japan for technical training in 2023. After working at an automobile repair shop in Aichi Prefecture, he joined Shinki Bus through a recruitment agency in September last year.

I decided to work in Japan...