Discussions have begun to add taxi, truck, and bus drivers to the “Specified Skilled Workers” system, which was started to alleviate domestic labor shortages. Currently, there is no residence status for foreign drivers.
Exceptionally,
foreign talents with very high Japanese language skills (the highest level N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test) could work as tourist taxi drivers under Designated Activities No. 46. However, graduating from a university in Japan and holding the N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test is a high hurdle. Also, truck drivers did not fall under Designated Activities No. 46 (Designated Activities is a completely different residence qualification from Specified Skilled Workers ).
This time, it seems that truck drivers will also be included.
The transportation industry,
which continues to suffer from labor shortages, is concerned about the “2024 problem” where people and goods cannot be transported according to demand due to the further exacerbation of labor shortages due to the regulation of overtime hours to a maximum of 960 hours per year from April 2024.
Specified Skilled Workers is
a system that allows foreigners who have passed two types of exams, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N4) and the Skill Test (a written test that asks practical knowledge for each field), to be employed at the same wages as Japanese people for up to five years. Regardless of academic background such as university graduation, passing the exam is a prerequisite. The experience is not questioned, but it is a system that can welcome foreigners as immediate forces to some extent because they have passed the “skill test” that is immediately applicable to practical work and can have daily conversations in Japanese.
Currently,
11 fields such as nursing care, food and beverage manufacturing industry, construction, agriculture, etc. are targeted. It is a new residence system that started in 2019, and “Specified Skilled Workers No. 1” allows you to work for up to five years. After that, “Specified Skilled Workers No. 2”, which targets foreigners with advanced skills and can transition through further exams, etc., has been changed to a system where there is no limit on residence and you can stay in Japan indefinitely.
The big disadvantages for foreign workers were that they could only work for up to five years under Specified Skilled Workers and that they could not accompany their families. However, it is expected to expand further in the future due to improvements made by this year’s “Specified Skilled Workers No. 2” system revision.
If there is an official announcement about the addition of the driver’s field to the Specified Skilled Workers system, we will post an article here again.
For details on the Specified Skills system, please see past blogs from the links below.
Residence Qualification Application・Working Visa “Specified Skilled Workers”
https://global.keiei-sakai.com/column/1076
Residence Qualification “Specified Skilled Workers” https://global.keiei-sakai.com/news/1127
Expansion of Target Fields for Specified Skilled Workers No. 2 https://global.keiei-sakai.com/news/1154
Considering Home Care for Foreigners, Possibility of System Revision Within This Year https://global.keiei-sakai.com/news/1154
We accept consultations on employment of foreigners including Specified Skilled Workers foreigners, labor management, and residence qualifications. https://global.keiei-sakai.com/news/1149
The first consultation is free.
Please feel free to contact us.
News Source: Mainichi Shimbun WEB 2023/9/12
