Specified Skilled Worker Program

In the 197th Diet (extraordinary session) on December 8, 2018, the Act for Partial Amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Justice was passed. They were enacted on December 14 of the same year (Law No. 102 of 2018). This revised law includes the creation of the "Specified Skilled Worker (i)" and "Specified Skilled Worker (ii)" statuses of residence as well as the establishment of the Immigration Services Agency.

• Current initiatives to promote the Specified Skilled Worker Program (job-matching events, etc.)
• Explanatory documents: Initiatives to employ new foreign nationals and for the realization of a society of harmonious coexistence - PDF (in Japanese)
  In English: Efforts towards the employment of foreign nationals and harmonious coexistence - PDF
• Video: "Initiatives to employ foreign nationals" (Ministry of Justice YouTube Channel)

  

  This straightforward video explains what the new "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence is and introduces a new initiative at the Immigration Services Agency that creates new infrastructure for employing foreign nationals. (Click to watch the video.)

• For those who wish to take the test(s) in Japan (expanded eligibility from April 1, 2020)
• Handling the effects of the spread of COVID-19
• Regarding the dedicated support counter for international students seeking employment
• Regarding the special measures in place for those planning to change their status of residence to "Specified Skilled Worker (i)"
• Regarding the operation status of the Specified Skilled Worker Program, as of March 3, 2021 (PDF; in Japanese)New!