The Beginning of the End for 'This Is Not Immigration Policy' — What the Ikusei Shuro System Reveals About Japan's Foreign Worker Structure

What Is Happening

The number of foreign workers in Japan continues to surge. According to MHLW, the figure stood at 2.303 million as of October 2024 and reached 2.571 million as of October 2025, surpassing 2.5 million for the first time. The record has been broken consecutively since the notification system became mandatory.

Against this backdrop, structural problems in the Technical Intern Training Program have also become apparent. In 2023, the number of technical intern trainees who disappeared reached 9,753 — a record high. By nationality, Vietnamese accounted for 5,481 or 56.2% of the total. 67% cited "low wages" as the motivation for disappearance, with large fees paid to sending organizations (Vietnamese trainees often arrive carrying debts exceeding one million yen) identified as a structural factor.

In response, the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act was promulgated in June 2024, creating the "Ikusei Shuro" (Development and Employment) system to replace Technical Intern Training. The effective date has been officially set at April 1, 2027.

Background and Context

Structural Problems of the Technical Intern Training Program

Since its creation in 1993, the Technical Intern Training Program has professed the goal of "international contribution through skills transfer." In practice, however, it has functioned as a labor supply mechanism for sectors facing worker shortages. This gap between stated purpose and actual function lies at the root of the structural problems.

Labor standards inspections in 2022 found legal violations at 73.3% of workplaces employing technical intern trainees. Violations ranged from improper overtime to unpaid overtime wages and minimum wage violations. Serious human rights abuses including violence, confiscation of passports, and forced repatriation have also been reported.

The US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report has continuously placed Japan at Tier 2 since 2020, stating that Japan "does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking" and pointing to the technical intern system as being "exploited for trafficking."

The Ikusei Shuro System — What Changes and What Doesn't

The Ikusei Shuro system differs decisively from its predecessor in two respects.

First, a transformation of purpose. From "international contribution" to "human resource development and securing for labor-shortage sectors" — the very raison d'etre of the system has been rewritten. In resolving the gap between pretense and reality, the institutional design has at least gained in honesty.

Second, the recognition of job transfers. Under the previous Technical Intern Training, job changes were generally prohibited. Under Ikusei Shuro, after a restriction period defined by sector (1-2 years), transfers based on the worker's own wishes become possible.

However, some structural elements remain unchanged. Job transfers require attainment of certain skill and Japanese language levels, meaning de facto binding continues during the restriction period. While licensing requirements for supervisory support organizations (formerly supervising organizations) are tightened, the extent to which "mandatory external auditors" will prove effective remains unknown.

The Contradiction of "This Is Not Immigration Policy"

The Japanese government consistently states that it "will not adopt so-called immigration policies." Yet the reality shows 2.57 million foreign workers, approximately 3.96 million foreign residents (approximately 3.2% of the total population). Under Specified Skilled Worker Category 2, family accompaniment is permitted and there is no upper limit on residence period renewals, making de facto permanent residency possible.

Keidanren published "Foreign Policy at a Turning Point" in December 2025, proposing comprehensive policies to accept foreign nationals not only as "labor" but as "community members."

Criticism that Japan avoids formulating comprehensive integration policies by narrowly interpreting the definition of "immigrant" comes from both the international community and domestically.

Reading the Structure

The Absence of Integration Policy — What Lies Beyond Expanded Acceptance

What are the consequences of expanding acceptance of foreign workers while failing to develop integration policies?

In 『無理ゲー社会』(An Unwinnable Game: Society), Akira Tachibana analyzed how the thorough penetration of meritocracy throughout society results in a structure where the logic of "personal responsibility" systematically excludes the vulnerable. This structure applies to the foreign worker issue as well. Attributing Japanese language ability and cultural adaptation to "individual effort" while expanding acceptance without building institutional foundations for integration is a form of exclusion through meritocracy.

Japan ranks in the lower group of surveyed countries on the MIPEX (Migrant Integration Policy Index), and is assessed as "critically behind" particularly in anti-discrimination policy. The Act on Promotion of Japanese Language Education (2019) remains a declaratory law, and systematic Japanese language education is left to local governments. While health insurance and pension systems are formally equal for nationals and non-nationals, issues of non-enrollment and non-payment persist in practice.

The language education problem is severe. The Ikusei Shuro system requires approximately JLPT N4 level (basic Japanese comprehension) as a condition for job transfers, but opportunities for systematic Japanese language education before and after arrival are limited. Most technical intern trainees receive only a few months of basic training at sending organizations in their home countries, and after arriving in Japan must rely on on-the-job learning. The venues for learning Japanese needed in daily life — visiting healthcare facilities, administrative procedures, handling children's school matters — depend on volunteer-based Japanese language classes and municipal international exchange associations, with significant regional variation in both quality and availability.

By 2035, a labor shortage of 3.84 million is projected, with foreign workers expected to increase from 2.05 million to 3.77 million. In some manufacturing regions of northern Kanto and Tokai, foreign workers already account for 40-50% of the workforce. The care sector saw the fastest growth at +28.1% year-on-year.

What a Depopulating Society Must Confront

Japan's native population has declined for 16 consecutive years, with the population aged 65 and over reaching 29.58% of the total. The rapid decline of the working-age population is proceeding irreversibly.

Under these demographic conditions, maintaining society without foreign workers is unrealistic. The question is no longer "whether to accept" but "how to accept" — that is, whether to utilize foreign nationals solely as labor or to include them as members of society. This is a fundamental choice.

The April 2027 implementation of the Ikusei Shuro system partially corrects the institutional deception of Technical Intern Training. However, continuing to expand acceptance without integration policies while maintaining the pretense that "this is not immigration policy" amounts to nothing more than postponing structural problems.

For the history of Japan's foreign worker acceptance systems, see also "The Evolution and Structure of Japan's Foreign Worker Systems."

References

外国人雇用状況の届出状況まとめ（令和6年10月末時点）

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

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育成就労制度Q&A

Immigration Services Agency

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2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Japan

US Embassy in Japan

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転換期における外国人政策のあり方

Keidanren

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外国人材の育成就労制度、27年4月から

Nikkei

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Japan's Governors Speak Out on Need for a Better Foreign Resident Policy

nippon.com

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無理ゲー社会 (An Unwinnable Game: Society)

Akira Tachibana. Shogakukan Shinsho

Read source

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