Japan stopped accepting “specified skilled” foreign workers for the restaurant industry on April 13, forcing companies to revise their hiring practices and prompting calls for a government rethink of the suspension.
To deal with labor shortages, the government plans to accept more than 800,000 foreign workers under the Specified Skilled Worker (i) resident status by the end of March 2029, including 50,000 for the restaurant industry.
But the quota for the industry is expected to be reached soon, leading to the suspension.
Some major restaurant chains are revising their hiring plans that were based on the assumption that additional foreign workers would obtain this status.
Skylark Holdings Co., operator of a restaurant chain, had planned to promote about 30 foreign students hired as part-time workers to full-time permanent employees after they obtained Specified Skilled Worker (i) status starting this summer.
However, those plans are now in doubt with the granting of the status now cut off.
“We had been preparing for this, so we are confused,” a Skylark public relations official said.
Yudetaro System, which operates a soba noodle chain, also planned to upgrade foreign part-time workers in April to quasi–permanent employee positions after they obtained the specified skilled worker status.
“The individuals involved are feeling anxious, so we want to take care of them,” a staff member of the company said.
The Japan Food Service Association, a restaurant industry group, plans to ask the government to raise the cap for restaurant workers.
“Even as companies are making efforts to hire Japanese workers, this sudden suspension of acceptance could, for some firms, lead to shortened business hours or even temporary closures,” a representative of the association said.
The representative also noted the possibility that competition will intensify for foreign workers who already hold the qualification.
Shohei Sugita, a lawyer with expertise in foreign resident employment issues, expects a large impact from the suspension.
“Restaurant chains in metropolitan areas, where wages are relatively high, are likely to draw workers away from rural regions,” Sugita said. “The ‘restaurant industry’ category includes meal services at facilities such as hospitals, so labor shortages there could also become more severe.”
According to Sugita’s estimates, if acceptance of the Type 1 specified skilled workers continues at the current pace, various industries will reach their respective caps before the deadline.
He predicted the ceiling will be reached for: the food and beverage production industry in February 2028; nursing care in March 2028; construction in April 2028; and automobile maintenance and aviation in December 2028.
If acceptance is suspended in other fields, labor supply and demand could tighten, potentially producing positive effects such as improved working conditions.
But there is also a risk that labor shortages will worsen, leading to a vicious cycle of higher prices and declining customers.
(This article was written by Shinya Matsumoto and Hisashi Naito.)