Overview

• The cabinet approved April 1, 2027 as the enforcement date for the Ikusei Shūrō system and confirmed the end of the 1993 Technical Intern Training Program.
• Ikusei Shūrō will accept workers across 17 labor-scarce sectors such as agriculture and construction with the aim of developing them to the Specified Skilled level.
• The framework envisions a principal three-year period that steers qualified participants into the longer-term Specified Skilled status.
• Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi said ministries will prepare implementing ordinances and sector-specific operational policies, including expected intake numbers, ahead of the launch.
• The health ministry reported a record 8,310 workplaces with violations involving technical interns in 2024 and disclosed 4,395 violations at sites employing Specified Skilled workers, led by safety breaches and unpaid overtime, including a case where a worker lost part of a finger to an unmaintained packaging machine.