Specified Skilled Worker was Japan's first visa explicitly designed to bring in foreign workers for jobs that are not white-collar professional roles. Applicants qualify by passing a skills test for the field and a Japanese language test, or by completing a stage of technical intern training in a related job. Employers must offer pay at least equal to Japanese workers doing the same job and provide support, often through a registered support organisation.
There are two types. Type 1 is for workers with a considerable level of skill and allows a cumulative stay of five years, without family. Type 2, for workers with expert skill, can be renewed indefinitely, allows a spouse and children to join, and can lead to permanent residency. Type 2 was extended from two fields to 11 in 2023; nursing care is outside it because a separate care visa exists.
The fields have grown. A March 2024 cabinet decision added automobile transportation, railway, forestry and the wood industry, making 16. A further decision in January 2026 added logistics warehousing, linen supply and resource recycling, with admissions expected from fiscal 2027. At the end of 2025 there were about 390,000 Specified Skilled Workers, up 37% in a year, of whom about 8,000 held type 2.
What it means for a foreign employer
- It is not a route for professional roles. Office, management and specialist roles need a different status, usually the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa.
- It matters if you run operations in Japan. Manufacturing, logistics, food service and care businesses increasingly depend on it.
- Support is a legal obligation. Housing help, orientation, Japanese study and complaint handling are required, and failure can cost the right to sponsor.
- Type 2 changes the retention picture. Workers who reach type 2 can stay and bring family, which makes them a long-term workforce rather than a rotating one.
Sources
- Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, as amended in 2018 (in force April 2019).
- Cabinet decisions on the Specified Skilled Worker fields, June 2023, March 2024 and January 2026.
- Immigration Services Agency, foreign resident statistics as at end of 2025, as reported by Nikkei, March 2026.