Japan Immigration News

Foreigners in Japan with skilled visa hits record high

Release Date: 2025-09-30
Media: Kazinform International
Summary: As of June 2025, Japan had a record 336,196 foreign workers under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

Top industry: Food and beverage manufacturing (~84,000 workers).

Top nationality: Vietnamese (≈40%), followed by Indonesians and Myanmar nationals.

Visa system:

SSW No. 1: Up to 5 years in 16 sectors, with potential to advance.

SSW No. 2: Offers permanent residency pathway in 11 sectors; holders surged to 3,073, nearly 3.7 times more than last year, as more No. 1 holders became eligible.

About half of No. 1 visa holders transitioned from the Technical Intern Training Program without exams.

The government plans to abolish the trainee program by FY2027, replacing it with the Employment for Skill Development system, encouraging a shift to SSW status after 3 years.

This expansion comes as Japan’s elderly population hit a record 29.4%, underscoring labor shortages.
Tags: Specified Skilled Worker

News Articles including "Specified Skilled Worker"

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2025-09-30

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2024-12-24

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2024-09-17

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2024-08-09

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2024-06-19

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2024-04-03

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2024-03-30

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2024-03-23

Japan to let more foreigners work as in-home caregivers(NIKKEI Asia)

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2024-03-23

Record 3.4 million foreign residents in Japan as work visas rise(KYODO NEWS)

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2024-03-06

Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers(Japan Times)

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2024-03-05

Japan to double cap on skilled foreign workers from fiscal 2024(NIKKEI Asia)

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2024-02-23

Japan Plans to Add 4 Fields to ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ Visa; Including Road Transportation Fields(Japan News)

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2024-02-07

Japan bets on tech, immigration as labor crisis worsens(DW)

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2024-01-28

Japan plans to add drivers, rail staff to skilled worker visa(The Asahi Shimbun)

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2024-01-28

Japan preparing to add transport roles to skilled visa amid shortages(KYODO NEWS)

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2024-01-26

Japan eyes adding drivers, railway workers to skilled worker visa(NIKKEI Asia)

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2024-01-17

Measures set out to keep foreign trainees in work in quake-hit areas(Japan Times)

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2023-10-10

Japan to add driving to specified foreign worker skills(Japan Times)

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2023-09-14

Japan set to expand visa framework to tackle driver shortage(Japan Times)

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2023-06-09

Japan construction firm training foreign workers to become core of workforce(The Mainichi)

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2023-04-25

Japan eyes long-term stays for wider range of skilled foreign workers(NIKKEI Asia)

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