From Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development and Specified Skilled Worker: A 2026 Policy Roundup
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Japan's system for accepting foreign workers is in a transitional period, moving away from the long-criticized Technical Intern Training Program toward a new Employment for Skill Development (ikusei shuro) system, while the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program for more work-ready talent continues to expand its scope and tighten its requirements. This article organizes the 2026 developments around this policy shift based on this site's prior reporting.
Background: from Technical Intern Training to Employment for Skill Development
According to Japan's Immigration Services Agency, the new Employment for Skill Development system that will replace the Technical Intern Training Program is set to take effect on April 1, 2027 (with some provisions excepted), under a law amendment enacted in June 2024 (source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan). The new system aims to combine human resource development with securing personnel, and is designed to allow smooth transition into the Specified Skilled Worker status. The developments reported through 2026 can be seen as part of the preparation for this transition.
Specified Skilled Worker: expanding scope, tightening requirements
In January 2026, the government approved a cabinet decision adding fields such as logistics warehousing, linen supply, and resource recycling to the Specified Skilled Worker program (related article). In April, it was announced that applicants for the Specified Skilled Worker visa will be required to prove Japanese language ability (related article). Then in August, it emerged that the government plans to create a new five-year category within Specified Skilled Worker (ii), expected to take effect in January of the following year, which is also said to affect permanent residency eligibility requirements (related article). The government appears to be pursuing broader acceptance and stricter management in parallel.
Cooperation with sending countries on Employment for Skill Development
In June 2026, Japan's Immigration Services Agency signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with the Thai government on the Employment for Skill Development system — the first such memorandum with a foreign government, aimed at excluding improper brokers (related article). Under the Technical Intern Training Program, exorbitant fees charged by brokers in sending countries and the resulting debt burdens on trainees have repeatedly been flagged as problems, making direct cooperation frameworks with sending-country governments a key issue for the transition to the new system.
Moves on the sending-country side
Sending countries have also been responding to these changes. In Indonesia, local media have published explainers on the process trainees go through after arriving in Japan (related article). Pakistan's Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) published a list of job openings in Japan on its official website (related article). With Bangladesh, a state minister and a Japanese delegation discussed expanding Japanese-language education and study-and-work programs (related article), and the Bangladeshi government has reportedly been preparing to expand worker dispatch under the Specified Skilled Worker program (related article). Several sending countries appear to be positioning themselves in anticipation of Japan's policy changes.
A related system: an exception in elder care
In the elder-care field, where the acceptance of foreign workers has been expanding, it has come to light that a special exemption allowing certification even after failing the national care-worker exam has been applied to more than 8,000 people over seven years. The exemption applies regardless of nationality, but foreign nationals are said to make up a large share of those who have used it (related article). Relaxed qualification requirements in labor-shortage fields are a related point of discussion alongside the Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development debates.
Current status: The transition from the Technical Intern Training Program to the Employment for Skill Development system is proceeding toward its April 2027 implementation, while the Specified Skilled Worker program continues to expand in scope and tighten its management in parallel. Further developments are expected around cooperation frameworks with sending countries and the detailed operation of language requirements and residency-period categories. This site will update this article and add further related coverage as developments occur.