820,000 FOREIGN SPECIFIED SKILL WORKERS TO BE ACCEPTED

Posted on April 1, 2024

The Japanese Government decided at a Cabinet meeting on March 29 to accept 820,000 foreign workers with certain skills in fields where there is a shortage of labor over the five years from FY2024, 2.4 times the number set for the five years through FY2023, and to accelerate acceptance in a wide range of fields.

The “specified skills” program accepts foreign workers only in fields where there is a labor shortage, even if efforts are made to secure domestic human resources and improve productivity. As of the end of last year, 208,462 people were residing in Japan.

Of the 12 fields, 10 fields, excluding “building cleaning” and “restaurant industry,” have been increased since the introduction of the system in 2007. The government has increased the number of workers in 10 of the 12 fields, excluding building cleaning and food service, since the system was introduced in 2007.

The government has also decided to add four more fields to the specified skill 1 list, which requires a considerable degree of knowledge or experience: automobile transportation, railroads, forestry, and the lumber industry.