Specified Skilled Worker: acceptance caps, the food service suspension and Japanese B1 from April 2027
Caps through March 2029 total 1,231,900 people across both systems. Certificate issuance for food service was suspended on 13 April 2026. Some Japanese requirements rise to B1 on 1 April 2027.
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Caps
A cabinet decision on 23 January 2026 set unified sector-specific operational policies for Specified Skilled Worker and the new Employment for Skill Development system, replacing the earlier Specified Skilled Worker sector policies. The acceptance caps through the end of March 2029 total 1,231,900 people: 805,700 for Specified Skilled Worker (i) and 426,200 for the new employment system. The Specified Skilled Worker (i) cap was revised down from the 820,000 set in March 2024.
If admissions are expected to exceed a sector cap, issuance of certificates of eligibility for Specified Skilled Worker (i) is suspended, and approval of training plans for the new system is suspended.
Food service
- The cap for Specified Skilled Worker (i) in food service is 50,000. About 46,000 workers were already resident at the end of February 2026, which led the agency to plan a suspension.
- On 13 April 2026 the agency suspended issuance of certificates of eligibility for the food service sector. Applications received from that day onward are not approved.
- As of 19 October 2026, food service certificates are being issued in order of receipt and only for applications received up to 6 February 2026, while change-of-status applications are prioritised.
- At the end of July 2026 (provisional figures), Specified Skilled Worker (i) stood at 432,016 residents against the 805,700 cap, and food service had reached 49,290 of its 50,000 cap.
Japanese at B1 from 1 April 2027
- Certificate of eligibility applications filed from 1 April 2027 for Specified Skilled Worker (ii) require Japanese at B1 or above. The timing for change-of-status and renewal applications is still under study.
- For certificate applications from the same date, bus and taxi driving and railway station staff in Specified Skilled Worker (i) require B1 or above instead of JLPT N3. The timing for in-country applications is undecided.
Other rules from 1 April 2027
- A support officer and a support staff member (may be the same person) must be appointed from full-time staff at each workplace, or each office for registered support organisations, and only they may do support work.
- People who completed technical intern training before 1 November 2017, or the earlier designated-activities training before 1 July 2010, must pass both the skills test and the Japanese test to move to Specified Skilled Worker (i), with no exemption.
What to check
Check the agency’s pages on the cap for your sector and on the review status of applications, and the sector operation manual for the Japanese level of your category.
Sources
- ISA: Main points of the sector operation policies ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Basic policy and sector operation policies ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Suspension of certificates for the food service sector ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Operation of the food service cap ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Review status of food service applications (19 October 2026) ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Expected admissions and residents, end of July 2026 ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: When the B1 Japanese check starts ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Employment for Skill Development Q&A (suspension when a cap is exceeded) ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Support structure requirements from 1 April 2027 ↗ moj.go.jp
- ISA: Moving from earlier technical intern training to Specified Skilled Worker (i) ↗ moj.go.jp
Last checked 24 October 2026
Related rules
Status pages
政策变更 · 7 rulebook entries
- A cabinet decision on 23 January 2026 set unified sector-specific operational policies for both systems, replacing the earlier Specified Skilled Work…
- The acceptance caps through the end of March 2029 total 1,231,900 people: 805,700 Specified Skilled Worker (i) and 426,200 for the new employment sys…
- The Specified Skilled Worker (i) cap was revised downward from the 820,000 set in March 2024 to 805,700, after the estimates were re-examined on the…
- If admissions are expected to exceed a sector cap, certificate of eligibility issuance for Specified Skilled Worker (i) is suspended and approval of…
- In the food service sector the Specified Skilled Worker (i) cap is 50,000 and about 46,000 workers were already resident at the end of February 2026,…
再显示 2 项
- On 13 April 2026 the agency suspended issuance of certificates of eligibility for the food service sector, and applications received from that day on…
- As of the end of July 2026 (provisional figures), the caps and resident numbers for Specified Skilled Worker (i) stood at 805,700 and 432,016 overall…
特定技能 · 5 rulebook entries
- From 1 April 2027, certificate-of-eligibility applications for Specified Skilled Worker (ii) will require Japanese at B1 or above; the timing for cha…
- From 1 April 2027, certificate applications for bus and taxi driving and railway station staff in Specified Skilled Worker (i) require Japanese at B1…
- From 1 April 2027, people who completed technical intern training before 1 November 2017 or the old 'Designated Activities (technical training)' stat…
- From 1 April 2027, a support officer and a support staff member (may be the same person) must be appointed from full-time staff at each workplace (fo…
- As of 19 October 2026, food service certificates are being issued in order of receipt and only for applications received up to 6 February 2026, while…
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