TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Around 65 percent of companies in Japan employ foreign workers to resolve labor shortages, a government survey showed Thursday.

In the multiple response survey, 56.8 percent of companies said foreign workers are employed with the expectation that they will perform as well or better than Japanese staff, while 18.5 percent cited efforts to promote diversity, the labor ministry survey said.

The survey was the first conducted by the ministry on the employment and recruitment of foreign workers, with the number continuing to increase amid Japan's graying and declining population.

The survey of companies with foreign workers that have five or more employees, conducted in October and November 2023, received responses from 3,534 businesses and 11,629 workers.

Asked about workplace challenges, 44.8 percent of the companies pointed to difficulties in communicating with foreign workers.

The survey also found that 51.5 percent of foreign workers in Japan were introduced to their jobs by agencies or individuals in their home countries, while 13.5 percent secured employment via agencies or individuals in Japan.

Meanwhile, 82.5 percent of foreign workers said they did not face problems in their workplaces.

"We'd like to continue conducting the survey and use it as a basic document for policymaking," a ministry official said.