2025-07-26

The food service industry is currently suffering from a chronic shortage of labor and employs many foreign workers. The Food Industry Specified Skills Council is a forum where foreign workers are properly accepted, and information and issues after employment are shared and discussed.

What is a “Food Service” visa?

The “Food Service” visa is one of the Specified Technical Skills Programs, a status of residence established to alleviate the shortage of labor in Japan’s food service industry.

The number of foreigners working in Japan with a “Food Service” visa is increasing every year. According to the Immigration and Residence Management Agency’s “Changes in Foreign Residents with Specified Technical Skills by Field,” the number of foreign residents as of the end of 2023 is 13,312.

The share of the “food service industry” in the total number of specified skills is 6.4% as of the end of 2023. Although not high in terms of percentage, the ratio to the total is increasing year by year, indicating that this is a field with a shortage of workers.

In order to obtain a “Food Service” visa, foreign nationals applying for the visa must pass a proficiency test and Japanese language proficiency test required to work in the food service industry. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test must be passed with a score of N4 or higher.

Work permitted with a Specified Skills “Food Service” visa includes cooking, service, hygiene management, and store management in restaurants. Restaurant work in hotels is also possible.

What is the Specified Proficiency Council?

The Specified Technical Skills Council is an organization that companies must join if they wish to employ foreign nationals with a Specified Technical Skills Visa. It consists of industry associations, host organizations, registered support organizations, academic experts, etc., led by the competent ministries and agencies in each of the 14 areas of specific skills.

The Council was established to ensure the proper acceptance of foreign nationals into employment and to protect and defend the rights, etc. of foreign workers. The council shares information and coordinates with other organizations concerning foreign workers. It also conducts surveys and provides guidance to employers.

What is the Food Industry Skill Council?

The Food Industry Skill Council has been established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) as the nucleus of the Food Industry Skill Council.

The main objectives of this council are as follows
・To ensure the appropriate operation of the system in the food service industry.
・To promote closer cooperation among the members of the Council, and to ensure that businesses are able to accept the necessary foreign nationals with specified skills, the Council will disseminate systems and information, raise awareness of compliance with laws and regulations, ascertain the labor shortage situation, and take necessary measures to address this situation.

・In addition, specific activities are as follows.
・Publicize the purpose of the system and good practices regarding the employment of specified skilled foreign nationals.
・To educate the organizations that belong to the specified skilled foreign nationals about the compliance with laws and regulations.
・To grasp and analyze information on changes in the employment structure and economic situation.
Identify and analyze the labor shortage situation by region.
・Examine and adjust measures to avoid concentration in metropolitan areas, etc., in light of labor shortages and employment conditions, etc.
・Prevent foreign nationals from being recruited by companies, etc.
・The Japanese government will share and discuss information and issues related to the smooth and appropriate employment of foreign nationals.

Summary

Since foreign workers are employed in an environment different from their home country, it is easy to infer that they are in a vulnerable position. The role of the Food Industry Skill Council is to share information and coordinate efforts to ensure that foreign workers in the food service industry are not concentrated in metropolitan areas.