Aviation Proposed for Japan’s New Foreign Worker Program

Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government proposed Wednesday that the aviation sector be added to a new “employment for skill development” program for foreign workers that will start in April 2027 to replace the technical intern training program. The government presented the proposal, which was included in draft plans to revise operation policies for the employment for skill development program, at a meeting of an expert panel on the existing specified skilled worker program and the new program. The new program will be operated alongside the specified skilled worker program, both of which provide residence status for foreign workers. The government aims to adopt the change at a cabinet meeting in December. While adding the aviation sector, which is already included in the specified skilled worker program, to the new program, the government plans to keep the sector’s combined upper limit to accept foreign workers unchanged at 4,900. Under the new program, the aviation sector would cover ground handling operations at airports to support loading and unloading cargo. The addition would bring the number of sectors covered by the new program to 18. Specifically, the draft plans call for setting the aviation sector’s upper limit to accept foreign workers at 4,600 under the Type 1 specified skilled worker status, which allows stays of up to five years, and at 300 under the employment for skill development program. The government also plans to add new job categories to four sectors already covered by the new system–industrial goods manufacturing, construction, food and beverage manufacturing, and fisheries. It will consider the content of tests to assess the skills required for the new categories. The overall intake cap through the end of fiscal 2028 will remain at 1,231,900, comprising 805,400 workers under the Type 1 specified skilled worker status and 426,500 under the new program. The number of foreign workers accepted under the Type 1 specified skilled worker status is nearing the upper limit of 50,000, prompting the government to suspend new admissions on a temporary basis from April this year. About 8,500 applications submitted before the suspension remained unprocessed, according to the Immigration Services Agency. As of the end of 2025, there were 382,341 foreign residents with the Type 1 status and 456,618 under the technical intern program. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]