Ministerial Council on Acceptance and Inclusion of Foreign Human Resources

On March 11, 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba attended the 21st meeting of the Ministerial Council on Acceptance and Inclusion of Foreign Human Resources at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the Basic Policy on the Operation of the System regarding the Status of Residence for Specified Skilled Workers, the Basic Policy on the Proper Implementation of the Employment for Skill Development Program and the Protection of Foreign Nationals under the Program, and other matters.

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said:

“Today we approved a draft Basic Policy on the Operation of the Specified Skilled Worker Program and the Employment for Skill Development Program at this ministerial council, which we will decide as a government policy at a later Cabinet meeting.

This basic policy stipulates basic principles regarding the operation of the Specified Skilled Worker Program and the Employment for Skill Development Program, in response to the amendment of the Immigration Control Act and other laws in June last year. Specifically, it prescribes the skills and proficiency in Japanese required for overseas human resources; that field-specific operation policies to be established shall establish the expected number of accepted workers, with this number serving as the upper limit for acceptance; that in principle, foreign nationals under the Employment for Skill Development Program shall be accepted only from countries with which Japan has concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation; and that livelihood support shall be provided for overseas human resources. Thus, the policy takes into account both the stable and smooth residence of foreign nationals and the prevention of employment opportunity losses for Japanese people.

On the back of serious labor shortages in Japan and intensifying global competition for securing foreign human resources, this basic policy serves as an important guideline for providing foreign nationals with attractive working environments.

I ask the relevant ministers to make steady preparations toward the commencement of the operation of the program in 2027 based on this basic policy, in order to make the Specified Skilled Worker Program and the Employment for Skill Development Program truly accessible and attractive both to domestic enterprises facing worker shortages and to foreign human resources willing to work in Japan.

In addition, I request each ministry and agency to provide necessary support for improving working environments and advancing harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, so that we can prevent the overconcentration of foreign talent in metropolitan areas, while promoting local industries by accepting overseas human resources in local areas facing particularly acute labor shortages. That is all from me.”