👷 Specified Skills field policy revision begins

❓ What is changing?

On September 9, 2026, Japan's Immigration Services Agency (ISA) held the 14th meeting of its expert panel on the basic policy and field-specific operation policies for the Specified Skilled Worker (tokutei ginou) and Employment for Skill Development (ikusei shurou) systems. The field-specific operation policies are the documents that set, for each industrial field, the maximum number of foreign workers Japan expects to accept, the range of work they may perform, and the skill evaluation tests and Japanese-language requirements that apply. After reporting on the current policies adopted by Cabinet decision on January 23, 2026, the panel took up the start of work toward revising them. Materials also covered follow-up on the FY2025 panel, the training image for fields covered by the new Employment for Skill Development system, a list of skill evaluation tests scheduled to be newly added in FY2026, and the response to the food service field, where issuance of Certificates of Eligibility was suspended after the acceptance forecast cap was exceeded. Because these policies are set by Cabinet decision, any change requires panel deliberation followed by a fresh Cabinet decision. As of September 9, therefore, only the review has begun — no new caps or fields are final yet. Meeting summaries and minutes are to be posted on the ISA website later.

👥 Who is affected?

• ●Foreign nationals already working under Specified Skilled Worker (i) or (ii), or planning to apply
• ●Foreign nationals who will work in Japan during the transition from Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development
• ●Anyone planning a job, job change or family-accompanied move in the Specified Skills food service field (affected by the suspension)
• ●People aiming for fields where new skill evaluation tests are scheduled for FY2026
• ●Employers and registered support organizations accepting these workers

🌏 Impact on foreign residents

The field-specific operation policies decide, in practice, whether a visa is available in your line of work. When a field reaches its acceptance forecast cap, issuance of Certificates of Eligibility can be suspended — as happened in the Specified Skills food service field — which stalls procedures for bringing new workers in from abroad. This does not mean the status of residence of people already in Japan is cancelled, but anyone who was counting on food service as a next job, or planning to invite family or friends from overseas, may need to rework their timeline. On the other hand, the start of revision work means additional fields and newly developed skill evaluation tests are now on the table. Tests scheduled to be added in FY2026 can open a route for people who previously had no exam to sit. The key point is that nothing is fixed until a Cabinet decision is made. Check the ISA's published materials and meeting summaries rather than social-media rumours.