The names cause confusion, so it is worth being clear. The Highly Professional System, often shortened to kodo-pro, is a rule about working hours. The Highly Skilled Professional status is an immigration status for foreign nationals. They share a word in Japanese and have nothing else in common. A foreign employee can hold one, both or neither.
Kodo-pro was introduced by the 2018 Work Style Reform legislation and took effect in April 2019. It is Japan's only full white-collar exemption. For employees within it, the Labour Standards Act's rules on working hours, breaks, days off and late-night premiums do not apply at all, which goes further than the manager exemption, under which the late-night premium still applies.
The conditions are strict. The job must fall within five designated types: development of financial products, fund management and trading, securities analysis, consulting, and research and development of new technologies or products. Annual pay must be guaranteed at 10.75 million yen or more. The employer needs a resolution of a labour-management committee passed by at least four-fifths of its members, filed with the Labour Standards Inspection Office, and each employee's written consent, which they can withdraw. The employer must also give at least 104 days off a year and four in every four weeks, add one further health measure such as an interval between shifts, and arrange a doctor's interview when hours are long.
Uptake has been small. In March 2025, 34 companies had introduced it for about 1,390 employees, more than nine in ten of them consultants.
What it means for a foreign employer
- It is rarely the answer. The committee, the consent and the health monitoring make it heavy to run. Most foreign subsidiaries rely on the manager exemption or flextime instead.
- Do not mix it up with the visa. A candidate who says they are "highly skilled professional" is almost certainly talking about their immigration status, not their hours.
- Consent can be withdrawn. Plan what happens to pay and hours if an employee opts out.
- It can work for small, well-paid teams. Consulting and trading desks are where it has taken hold.
Sources
- Labour Standards Act, Article 41-2, and Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labour Standards Act (income threshold of 10.75 million yen), in force 1 April 2019.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, status of reports on the Highly Professional System as at end of March 2025.