According to the Cabinet decision on March 29, 2024 (about resetting the expected number of specific skills accepted and adding target fields, etc.), Four new fields(“car transportation”, “railway”, “forestry”, and “wood industry”) have been added, and acceptance has started for three fields except “car transportation” as the additional standards notification was issued on September 30th and came into effect immediately.
The notification for “car transportation” is not yet displayed on the relevant website of the Immigration Services Agency.
What is a specific industry field?
The Specified Skilled Worker System is limited to industrial fields where it is difficult to secure human resources even after efforts are made to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources. These industrial fields are generally referred to as specific industrial fields, and currently include the following 16 fields, including the four additional fields.
| nursing care | building cleaning | Industrial product manufacturing industry | construction |
| shipbuilding/marine industry | car maintenance | aviation | accommodation |
| agriculture | fishery | food and beverage manufacturing industry | restaurant industry |
| car transportation | railway | forestry | wood industry |
What is the additional standard?
In the specified skills system, there are various standards for the applicant (foreigner) himself/herself, specified skills employment contract, specified skills affiliated organization (employer), specified skills foreign support plan, etc. If the qualification is met, you will be granted the status of residence “Specified Skilled Worker”. Some of these standards are unique to specific industrial fields, and these are called additional standards. Additional criteria will be determined by public notice.
Shortfall in number of people in four fields and expected acceptance
Car Transportation Industry
According to sector-specific operational policies, a total of approximately 288,000 people will be employed in FY2028 (truck transportation industry: approximately 199,000 people, taxi transportation industry: approximately 67,000 people, bus transportation industry: 22,000 people). It is said that there will be a labor shortage and even after all efforts have been made to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources, the government still needs to accept 24,500 people.
Railway
According to the field-specific operational policy, 151,600 workers will be needed in FY2028, but there will be a labor shortage of about 18,400 people. It is said that there will be a labor shortage and even after all efforts have been made to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources, the government still needs to accept 3,800 people.
Forestry
According to the field-specific operational policy, 58,000 workers will be needed in FY2028, but there will be a labor shortage of about 20,000 people. It is said that there will be a labor shortage and even after all efforts have been made to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources, the government still needs to accept 1,000 people.
Wood Industry
According to the field-specific operational policy, 136,000 workers will be needed in FY2028, but there will be a labor shortage of about 57,000 people. It is said that there will be a labor shortage and even after all efforts have been made to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources, the government still needs to accept 5,000 people.
Future developments
Fields under consideration for addition
There was a time when the Japan Franchise Chain Association requested that the convenience store industry be added to the specified industry sector (Cabinet Office website, November 2022), but there seems to be no progress at this point. The specific skills system requires additional work such as daily life support and various notifications, which incurs significant management costs. It seems that there are issues such as this not being compatible with the franchise business format (store owners cannot bear this additional cost), and I have not heard of any enthusiasm for making this a reality.
Fields in which additional work is desired within the specific industry fields that have already been determined
On the other hand, for example, the work that can be accepted in the “accommodation field” is designated as “work related to the provision of accommodation services such as front desk, planning and public relations, customer service, and restaurant services at accommodation facilities”, but housekeeping duties, where a significant labor shortage exists, within hotels are not covered. We may see such moves in the future, such as expansion of target operations within each specific industry field.