In preparation for implementing the Employment for Skill Development (育成就労, Ikusei Shuro) programme, three developments took place from late August into September: the addition of sending countries, the publication of new sector-specific operational guidelines, and the start of pre-implementation applications for plan accreditation by OTIT.
- Expansion of sending countries: bilateral cooperation memoranda were concluded with Sri Lanka (signed in Tokyo on 20 May, finalised in Colombo on 23 July) and Laos (signed in Tokyo on 5 August, finalised in Vientiane on 31 August), bringing the total, together with the existing memoranda with Uzbekistan and Thailand, to four countries. Under Employment for Skill Development, acceptance is in principle only possible from countries with a concluded memorandum; both new memoranda confirm a ban on passing supervisory and support costs on to workers, and require transparency and prior agreement on deductions from living expenses.
- Additional sector-specific operational guidelines: operational guidelines were published for the logistics warehousing sector (published 28 August) and the forestry sector (published 31 August, alongside a revision of that sector's supplementary-criteria notification). Both are industries closely tied to Hokkaido.
- OTIT's pre-implementation applications: the Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT) announced: 「育成就労計画認定施行日前申請は、9月1日から開始されます。」("Pre-implementation-date applications for Employment for Skill Development plan accreditation begin on 1 September.") Implementation of the programme itself is on 1 April 2027; this is a pre-implementation application ahead of that date, and accreditation results will be posted out progressively from 1 September onward. Required documents include the accreditation application (attached form No. 1), the employment contract and terms of employment, a medical certificate, a written undertaking, and sector-specific compliance documents, among others.
The expansion of sending countries, the build-out of sector-specific guidelines, and the start of plan accreditation applications are all proceeding at the same time, adding to the preparatory work facing supervising and supporting organisations and accepting organisations considering a transition from Technical Intern Training.
See also Employment for Skill Development: Bilateral Framework Advances.
Source: Immigration Services Agency, "Bilateral Cooperation Memoranda on Employment for Skill Development" / Immigration Services Agency, "Employment for Skill Development Programme" / Organization for Technical Intern Training, "On Pre-Implementation-Date Applications for Employment for Skill Development Plan Accreditation"