AFP-JIJI

Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding Loses Foreign Technical Intern Certification

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Tokyo branch of Imabari Shipbuilding Co. in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Jiji Press

14:04 JST, March 26, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Top Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding Co. lost its official certification for foreign technical intern programs for violating the industrial safety and health law, the Immigration Services Agency has said.

Following the administrative punishment, the shipbuilder will be unable to accept foreign trainees for the next five years, based on a related law. All such trainees currently working at Imabari Shipbuilding will be transferred to other companies.

The detail of the violation, for which the company has been fined, was not disclosed.

To accept foreign trainees, companies are required to get certification for a training program for each of them from the Organization for Technical Intern Training. The cancellation of certifications is the harshest penalty for companies accepting trainees.

According to the agency’s announcement Tuesday, Imabari Shipbuilding saw its certification revoked for 2,134 programs, the largest number for a single company.

The shipbuilder cannot accept foreign workers under the new training program for such people expected to be introduced in 2027, until its punishment expires.