1-1 Background

The food service industry is facing difficulty securing workers due to the declining birthrate, diversification of career choices, and other factors, and a serious labor shortage has become clear. As the average age of food service workers rises, it has become difficult to secure enough workers through domestic human resources alone. This system was introduced to accept foreign workers in response to this situation.

1-2 Information for People Working with Specified Skilled Worker Status

The Immigration Services Agency compiles and publishes the number of people working under Specified Skilled Worker status once every half year (once every three months until 2022). According to that data, the population ratios by country and age group are as follows.

As of the end of June 2024, 20,308 people work in the food service industry under Specified Skilled Worker status. By region, most workers are from Asia, with Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar being the top countries of origin.

Although the Specified Skilled Worker system began in 2019, the number of people working in the food service industry under this status has increased by about seven times over the past three years, and the number of accepted workers is expected to continue expanding.

source : 出入国在留管理庁（https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/zairyuarchive.html）

2-1 Job Description

The main duties under Specified Skilled Worker “Food Service Industry” are as follows.

• Food preparation, which means cooking, preparing, and producing food and drinks served to customers

  Examples: preparing ingredients, cooking with heat, preparing food without heat, seasoning, plating, preparing food and drinks, etc.

• Customer service, which means work other than food preparation that is necessary to provide food and drinks to customers

  Examples: guiding customers to seats, suggesting menus, taking orders, serving food, clearing tables, setting cutlery, receiving payments, setting up products, handing over products, collecting dishes and containers, accepting reservations, setting tables, handling complaints, coordinating with service destinations at meal service facilities, etc.

• Store management, which means work other than the two duties above that is necessary for store operations

  Examples: overall hygiene management in the store, employee shift management, administrative work for recruitment and employment, administrative work for employee guidance and training, managing reservation and customer information, managing cash registers and ticket machines, accounting management, coordination with headquarters, business partners, and government offices, maintenance of equipment and facilities, replenishment, ordering, inspection, or quantity management of ingredients, consumables, and supplies, menu planning and development, creating menu books and POP ads, planning promotions and advertisements, maintaining the internal, external, and overall store environment, improving store operations, creating and revising work manuals, etc.

• Work to protect occupational safety and health and food hygiene, such as checking the safety of machines used for work and managing worker hygiene

source : Immigration and Residence Management（https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/10_00179.html）

2-2 Differences by work category

In the food service industry, workers handle cooking, customer service, and store management. Cooking includes preparation, heating, and plating. Customer service includes guiding customers, taking orders, serving food, payment, and handling complaints. Store management includes hygiene management, shifts, inventory, ordering, and cleaning.

2-3 Knowledge and Japanese needed for work

In the food service industry, Japanese is needed for menus, orders, allergies, payment, reservations, complaint handling, food hygiene, hand washing, temperature control, cleaning, and similar tasks. If the job includes customer service, polite expressions for customers are also important.

3-1 How to read salary and take-home pay

The average monthly payment for SSW Food Service workers in 2021 was ¥233,543. This is the average monthly payment based on periodic reports for SSW foreign workers who stayed throughout 2021.

According to public statistics, the average monthly payment for SSW foreign workers in this field is ¥194,358. This is not take-home pay. The actual amount you receive changes depending on taxes, social insurance fees, dormitory fees, food costs, overtime pay, night shift allowance, and other items. When checking a job offer, check not only the base salary, but also the estimated take-home pay, overtime pay, dormitory fees, social insurance, and transportation costs.

For new fields or fields with few workers, field-specific average payment may not be clear enough in public materials. Check the latest salary terms in the job ad and employment contract.

source : Source: Immigration Services Agency, “Current Status of the Specified Skilled Worker System”（https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001397709.pdf）

The salary amounts above are statistical average payments or guide amounts from job conditions. They are not the actual take-home pay. Take-home pay changes depending on taxes, social insurance fees, dormitory fees, food costs, overtime pay, night shift allowance, transportation costs, and other items. Under SSW, the pay must be equal to or higher than the pay of Japanese workers doing the same job.

3-2 Working hours, work location, and shifts

The food service industry may include lunch and dinner peak hours, weekends and holidays, early morning work, and late-night work. Depending on the type of restaurant, the job may be mainly customer service, mainly cooking, or mainly dishwashing.

3-3 Things to Check Before Applying

Before applying, check not only the monthly salary, but also the actual job content, working hours, days off, overtime pay, night shift allowance, dormitory fees, food costs, social insurance, transportation costs, qualification support, who will handle the residence status application, and the name of the registered support organization.

For job offers, check whether the job is customer service or cooking, late-night work, staff meals, uniforms, how busy peak times are, break times, overtime, whether store transfers may happen, and hygiene management training.

• See how to find a company and how to check job offer details

4-1 First, check the Japanese language test needed for your field.

To obtain Specified Skilled Worker status for “Wood Industry,” you must pass both a Japanese language test and the Wood Industry Specified Skilled Worker (i) Proficiency Test.

To work as Specified Skilled Worker (i), in principle, you need to pass a Japanese language test and a field-specific skills evaluation test. For the Japanese language test, JLPT N4 or higher, or JFT-Basic A2 or higher, is accepted. In the nursing care field, the Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test is also required. People who have successfully completed Technical Intern Training (ii) may be exempt from tests depending on the field and work content.

• View Exams Required to Obtain Specified Skilled Worker Status
• View Detailed Information about JLPT N4
• View Detailed Information about JFT-Basic A2

4-2 Skills Evaluation Test

The food service field test covers cooking food and drinks, customer service, store management, food hygiene, safety and hygiene, and similar topics. OTAFF publishes study texts. Check the test information page and the official website for detailed test information and study materials.

• View Detailed Information about JLPT N4
• Check Official Railway Field Information

5-1 Move on to study, job search, and application

After checking the job content and required tests, next check the flow for test study, company search, and residence status application. Even if you pass the tests, you still need an employment contract with a company and a residence status application.

• Check Official Railway Field Information
• Search for Companies
• View Residence Status Application Method
• Check the Visa Application Flow