Starts April 1, 2027 — 3 years, worker-initiated transfers, pre-launch filings from 2026
Japan's Immigration Services Agency has published an 80-question Q&A on Ikusei Shuro (employment for skill development), the status that begins operating on April 1, 2027. The system trains and secures workers who reach Specified Skilled Worker (i) level through three years of employment in sectors facing labor shortages. It replaces the Technical Intern Training (Ginou Jisshu) program, which had been criticized for the gap between its stated goal of international contribution and actual practice, and for gaps in protecting foreign workers' rights. The biggest difference from technical intern training is that, to protect foreign nationals properly as workers, transferring to a different employer at the worker's own initiative is allowed under set conditions. The Nos. 1–3 stages of technical intern training disappear: from the outset you draw up a single three-year Ikusei Shuro plan and have it certified by the Organization for Ikusei Shuro of Foreign Nationals. The target is passing a skills test such as National Trade Skill Test Grade 3 or the Specified Skilled Worker (i) evaluation test, plus a Japanese test at CEFR-based A2 level (some sectors require A2 or above). If you fail the transition tests after three years, the policy allows continued residence for up to one more year. Ahead of launch, applications for supervising and supporting organization licenses open on April 15, 2026, and pre-launch applications for plan certification open on September 1, 2026.
If you are currently a technical intern trainee, you can continue technical intern training after the change only if you are already in Japan as of April 1, 2027, or if your training plan certification was filed by March 31, 2027 and training begins, in principle, by June 30, 2027. Otherwise you cannot re-enter as a technical intern trainee — though depending on the content of your training, you may be able to enter as an Ikusei Shuro worker once a plan is certified. For newcomers, the biggest change is that you can move to a different employer at your own initiative once the conditions are met. However, you cannot work across sectors (for example farming in summer and fishing in winter), and each sector sets a transfer restriction period. Fees paid to a sending organization are capped at two months of the monthly wage (regular monthly amount) paid by the Japanese host employer. Note also that if a sector is projected to exceed its intake cap, new entry is in principle blocked even if you have already signed an employment contract.
Japan's Ikusei Shuro system starts April 1, 2027: A1-level Japanese before work and A2 within three years. The Immigration Services Agency has published a June 2026 list of institutions offering the required courses.
OTIT has published the sector operational guidelines for logistics and warehousing under Japan's Employment for Skill Development system, due to start in April 2027 with extra standards for supervisors.
OTIT published the list of Laos government-certified sending organizations for the Ikusei Shuro (Employment for Skill Development) system starting April 2027, plus what applicants and employers should check before signing anything.