Safety going down the drain? - Japan - Curt Lewis

Japan eases flight time requirements for non-Japanese to be pilots

To deal with a shortage of pilots, the government has drastically eased flight time requirements for non-Japanese to work as pilots or co-pilots for the country's airlines.

With the change, made Monday, qualified non-Japanese will be eligible to work as co-pilots or pilots if they have at least 250 hours of flight experience - the same level usually needed in Japan to be hired to serve as co-pilots - compared with the previously needed 1,000 hours.