Since the Land of the Rising Sun gained tremendous popularity as a tourism destination not only in Asia but on a universal scale, the airline and aviation industry in the country is also booming. Year in and year out, hundreds of thousands of international and even local tourists travel around Japan by plane.
However, the aviation industry is also affected by the chronic labor shortage experienced by Japan in recent years brought about by the country’s aging population, low birth rate and vast decline in inward migration. Amid the rising demand for a strong workforce, Japan falls short of the necessary human resources that can guarantee a continuing upward growth of the aviation sector.
In fact the aviation industry is among the fourteen sectors in Japan that are deemed to suffer the worst problems in terms of labor shortage. The other remaining sectors include Care worker, Building Cleaning Management, Machine Parts & Tooling Industry, Industrial Machinery Manufacturing Industry, Electric, Electronic and Information Industries, Construction Industry, Shipbuilding and Ship Machinery Industry, Automobile Repair and Maintenance, Accommodation Industry, Agriculture Fishery and Aquaculture as well as Food and Beverage production.
As such, the Japanese government through its National Legislature amended its immigration policies that used to provide for stringent requirements on foreign nationals who apply to work and reside in Japan. This new revision in the law took effect last April 1, 2019.
One of the most remarkable changes introduced in the amended immigration law is the new visa category known as the “Specified Skilled Worker Visa” This category may be availed of by foreign nationals even with low educational attainment who are interested to work as mechanics or engage in a blue collar job in relation to the aviation industry. It is not necessary for them to have a college or university degree as long as they have considerable knowledge and experience in the specific industry that they intend to work in.
In this visa category, what is essential for interest foreign applicants is simply to take and pass the Specified Skills Evaluation Test and obtain at least an “N4” level in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
Reference: Specified Skilled Visa
