Japan Specified Skilled Worker Program 2024

Japan has traditionally had strict immigration policies, but aging demographics and severe labor shortages in certain industries have forced the government to open its doors slightly wider to foreign workers in recent years. The Specified Skilled Worker program represents this shift, with the goal of attracting hundreds of thousands of qualified candidates to fill open positions through expedited visas. With the program firmly established, 2024 promises increased opportunities in a variety of occupations. This article provides key information about the program’s current status and outlook for the coming year.

Background of the Specified Skilled Worker Program

In April 2019, the Specified Skilled Worker program was launched as a pioneering initiative to bring more foreign manual laborers, tradespeople, and technicians into priority Japanese industries that lack domestic manpower. The program was inspired by similar targeted work schemes in other countries experiencing dramatic workforce declines due to low birth rates.

Eligible workers can now obtain renewable five-year visas in three categories: Type 1 (most skilled/experienced), Type 2 (skilled), and Type 3 (less skilled) across 14 designated sectors, ranging from construction to food services. Simplified immigration procedures, visa extensions, and (in some cases) pathways to permanent settlement offer additional incentives over standard work visas.

As of late 2023, Japan had welcomed nearly 215,000 specified skilled immigrant workers, far exceeding initial expectations. The program’s proven success ensures that it will continue to play an important role in Japanese immigration policy and labor force planning. 2024 is expected to build significantly on current participation trends across occupations.

Top Industries Targeted for 2024 with Skilled Labor

While the original ordinance extended lower-skilled visa eligibility to jobs in all specified sectors, recent shifts indicate that Japan intends to strategically narrow targets to higher-value occupations that reflect current reality.

In 2024, the main priority areas expected to sponsor the majority of incoming specified skilled visa holders are:

• Healthcare Support – With over 300,000 nursing care vacancies nationwide, the demand for home health aides and elderly caregivers continues to rise as Japan’s population ages rapidly.
• Construction – Major projects for the 2025 World Expo, as well as planned economic stimulus spending, are expected to increase construction labor shortages beyond the current 200,000-strong workforce.
• Accommodation and Food Services – A recovery in tourism and hospitality activity necessitates increased kitchen and service staffing, which is facing growing deficits, particularly outside Tokyo.
• Manufacturing – High-tech factories and value-added production facilities continue to face significant shortages of qualified technicians and machine operators.

These four critical sectors represent the most acute job gaps that Japanese employers are struggling to fill domestically. As a result, skilled worker visa issuance and hiring in 2024 are expected to be dominated by related occupations.

Evolving Eligibility Criteria for Specific Skilled Worker Visas

When it debuted in 2019, Japan’s groundbreaking program focused on relaxing the degree, income, and qualification requirements that had previously deterred most blue-collar foreign job seekers. The goal was to rapidly expand the labor force across specific industries.

However, with over 86 distinct job categories now included under specified skilled status, the focus shifts to cherry-picking higher-value talent abroad that aligns with two key policy objectives:

• Increasing productivity: Attracting skills in technical trades and specialized services to improve efficiency.
• Supporting strategic sectors – Enabling targeted industries deemed critical to Japanese interests.
• As a result, revised regulations will raise minimum experience thresholds for nearly 20 job types, particularly in manufacturing and services, beginning in 2022. Applicants in those occupations no longer require directly relevant work experiences. This slightly raises the bar for targeted talent levels compared to the original ordinance.
• Similar eligibility refinements are likely to take effect in 2024 across technical management fields, healthcare services, and other strategic occupations.

Meanwhile, positions such as caregivers may remain more flexible if acute shortages persist. So requirements continue to vary significantly depending on the specific job type targeted for the specified skilled status.

Forecast for 2024 Specific Skilled Worker Visa Approvals

Following a muted pandemic year in 2020, visa approvals and new worker arrivals under the specified skilled framework increased dramatically in 2021 and 2022. Approvals reached approximately 90,000 in 2022, following record intakes in 2021.

Japan plans to accept up to 100,000 more skilled foreign workers in targeted industries by 2023.

• Building on this momentum, the Ministry of Justice recently announced that the country intends to attract over 300,000 additional immigrant workers through various visa programs by 2025. The majority of the jobs should go to people with specific skill levels.
• This ambition implies that, if the economy remains stable, 2024 could see all-time high skilled worker visa approvals of 150,000 or more.
• Healthcare support roles and construction trades have accounted for more than half of all specified skilled visas thus far, and these verticals will continue to lead demand in 2024. However, continued recovery in the tourism, hospitality, and care industries will result in much faster intake growth in related service jobs over the next year.

Meanwhile, manufacturers intend to hire more selectively from abroad for highly sought-after advanced vocational skills where severe domestic shortages persist.

Application Process and Timeline for the 2024 Specified Skilled Visa

Foreign nationals seeking specific skilled job opportunities in 2024’s promising labor market should expect a moderately strict and lengthy visa application process by international standards. These are the typical steps:

Take the JLPT4- or higher Japanese language test along with any relevant occupational exams.

Before applying, research the 12-month experience requirements for your desired occupation and obtain a formal job offer from a Japanese employer who will sponsor you.

Submit detailed visa application documents, such as proof of language ability, a job offer letter, training credentials, licenses, and police clearance certificates, depending on your occupation.

Complete the immigration interview and medical checks; expect processing to take 2-3 months once a complete and quality application is filed.

After receiving visa approval notification, visit your nearest Japanese consulate abroad to obtain residential status documentation.

While Japan’s immigration policies were more complex than those of many Western countries, they were significantly less restrictive than in the past. Strong Japanese skills and hands-on work experience remain the best bets for fast-track processing and visa approval.

Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker Program Is Setting the Standard for Targeted Immigration

Faced with an unavoidable demographic decline, Japan deviated from tradition by launching its Specified Skilled Worker program, a visionary dedicated work visa framework designed to systematically replenish urgent talent gaps plaguing Japanese industry while supporting strategic national goals.

Now in its fifth year, the audacious social experiment has already proven far more successful than early skeptics anticipated. Hundreds of thousands have arrived and thrived as a result of improved long-term residency privileges and targeted integration policies.

As the country expands its global leadership in technology, medicine, and value-added production, a new era of carefully controlled mass immigration awaits, as proactive policy cements skilled foreign talent in dozens of critical occupations as a permanent pillar of social infrastructure.

This remarkable journey should be extended in 2024 as applicants from all over the world compete for coveted opportunities to participate in Japan’s economic renaissance, ushering in skilled immigrant workers as the lifeblood energizing corners of industry that have long been starved for helping hands.