Japan Eyes Plan to Accept Up To 1.23 Mil. Foreign Workers by End of Fiscal 2028

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:03 JST, December 23, 2025

The government presented a plan to accept up to 1,231,900 foreign workers by the end of fiscal 2028 to a panel of experts on Tuesday.

The figure includes about 800,000 to be accepted under the Specified Skilled Worker System residency status and about 420,000 under the Employment for Skill Development Program, which will replace the Technical Intern Training Program starting in 2027.

The government will hold discussions with the ruling parties about the plan, and the Cabinet will make a decision in late January.

Under the proposed plan, the government aims to accept 805,700 workers over three years starting in fiscal 2026 in 19 fields under the Specified Skilled Worker System, which allows people to be employed long-term.

The government initially planned to accept 820,000 workers over a five-year period from fiscal 2024, but the figure was revised down due to productivity gains driven by such factors as artificial intelligence.

Regarding the Employment for Skill Development Program, the government anticipates accepting up to 426,200 workers in 17 fields over two years. It is the first time the government has publicized the number of people to be accepted under the program.

Aimed at alleviating domestic labor shortages, the workers will be trained to achieve a certain level of skill and will be encouraged to switch their status to the Specified Skilled Worker System.

On changing jobs, which is generally prohibited under the Technical Intern Training Program, those in the program will be able to work for another employer within the same sector after one or two years.

The Technical Intern Training Program, plagued by such issues as excessive overtime and unpaid wages, will be abolished.

According to the Immigration Services Agency, there were about 449,400 technical intern trainees as of the end of June. An agency official said there will be fewer workers under the new program than under the technical intern program.

According to a draft of the operational guidelines, 319,200 workers will be accepted in the sector for manufacturing industrial products, the most of any sector, followed by 199,500 in construction, followed by 194,900 in food and beverage manufacturing and 167,000 in nursing care.

Other sectors will be introduced, such as logistics warehousing, which is expected to accept 18,300; linen supply, expected to accept 7,700; and resource recycling, expected to accept 4,500.

The upper limits for each sector were calculated by subtracting the projected labor shortage from the estimated increase of workers due to such factors as more women in the workforce and productivity gains. The limits were also put in place to avoid negatively affecting employment of Japanese citizens. Acceptance of foreign workers will be suspended when the upper limit is reached.