| Item | Criteria | Points |
| Educational Background | (a) the foreign national holds a doctorate | 30 |
| (b) the foreign national holds a master's degree, or a professional degree (referring to the "professional degree" specified in Article 5-2 of the Degree Regulations (Order of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture No. 9 of 1953) and including equivalent degrees awarded in foreign countries; the same applies hereinafter) (excluding cases where sub-item (a) applies) | 20 |
| (c) the foreign national has graduated from a university or has received equivalent or higher education (excluding cases where sub-item (a) or (b) applies) | 10 |
| (d) the foreign national holds doctorates, master's degrees, or professional degrees in multiple fields | 5 |
| Career | (a) the foreign national has 7 years or more of work experience in the research, instruction in research, or education the foreign national engages in | 15 |
| (b) the foreign national has 5 years or more but less than 7 years of work experience in the research, instruction in research, or education the foreign national engages in | 10 |
| (c) the foreign national has 3 years or more but less than 5 years of work experience in the research, instruction in research, or education the foreign national engages in | 5 |
| Annual Income | (a) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization (referring to the public or private organization in Japan that acts as the contractual counterparty; the same applies hereinafter) and the foreign affiliated organization (where the staff member of a public or private organization overseas transfers and is accepted by the contracting organization, referring to the relevant public or private organization overseas; hereinafter the same applies in this item, the following item and paragraph (1), item (i), (b) of the following Article) is 10,000,000 yen or more | 40 |
| (b) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 9,000,000 yen or more, but less than 10,000,000 yen | 35 |
| (c) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 8,000,000 yen or more, but less than 9,000,000 yen | 30 |
| (d) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 7,000,000 yen or more, but less than 8,000,000 yen | 25 |
| (e) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 6,000,000 yen or more, but less than 7,000,000 yen | 20 |
| (f) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 5,000,000 yen or more, but less than 6,000,000 yen | 15 |
| (g) the total annual remuneration the foreign national receives from the contracting organization and the foreign affiliated organization is 4,000,000 yen or more, but less than 5,000,000 yen | 10 |
| Age | (a) the foreign national is aged under 30 | 15 |
| (b) the foreign national is aged 30 or over but under 35 | 10 |
| (c) the foreign national is aged 35 or over but under 40 | 5 |
| Research Achievement | (a) the foreign national satisfies at least two of the following sub-items (1) through (4)
(1) there is one or more inventions in respect of which the foreign national was granted a patent as the inventor
(2) the foreign national has engaged, three times or more, in research which received a subsidy, competitive funding, or other forms of funding from a foreign government
(3) the foreign national has published three or more papers (limited to those papers in respect of which the foreign national is the author responsible for responding to queries concerning the paper (hereinafter referred to as the "responsible author")) in academic journals which are registered on the database of academic papers (an assembly of information concerning academic research papers, which is systematically structured so as to enable that information to be searched by using a computer; the same applies hereinafter) used by national institutions of Japan
(4) the foreign national has submitted a research achievement which does not correspond to (1) through (3), but which, having consulted the head of the relevant administrative organ, the Minister of Justice has recognized as being equivalent to them | 25 |
| (b) the foreign national satisfies any of (1) through (4) in (a) (excluding cases where sub-item (a) applies) | 20 |
| Special Additions | (a) the contracting organization is a small and medium-sized enterprise (referring to the "small and medium-sized enterprise" as defined in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Basic Act (Act No. 154 of 1963); the same applies hereinafter), and additionally, has either received approval, etc. as being conducive to the promotion of the creation of innovation (referring to the "creation of innovation" as defined in Article 2, paragraph (5) of the Act on Vitalizing the Creation of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Act No. 63 of 2008); the same applies hereinafter) in accordance with the provisions of laws specified by the Minister of Justice through public notice, or received the grant of subsidy and other measures of assistance which the Minister of Justice has declared as being conducive to the creation of innovation through public notice | 20 |
| (b) the contracting organization has either received approval, etc. as being conducive to the promotion of the creation of innovation in accordance with the provisions of laws specified by the Minister of Justice through public notice, or received the grant of subsidy and other measures of assistance which the Minister of Justice has declared as being conducive to the creation of innovation through public notice (excluding cases where sub-item (a) applies) | 10 |
| (c) in the financial year preceding the financial year to which the date on which application is made pursuant to the provisions of Article 7-2, paragraph (1), Article 20, paragraph (2), Article 21, paragraph (2), Article 22-2, paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 22-3) or Article 50, paragraph (2) of the Act, determination is made pursuant to the provisions of Article 11, paragraph (3) of the Act, or permission is granted pursuant to the provisions of Article 22-6, paragraph (1) or Article 61-2-5, paragraph (1) of the Act, or permission is granted pursuant to the provisions of Article 50, paragraph (1) of the Act (limited to permission granted ex officio) belongs (hereinafter referred to as the "date of application, etc.") (where the date of application, etc. falls within 2 months of the end of the preceding financial year, the financial year prior to the preceding financial year; the same applies hereinafter), the ratio of test and research expenses, etc. (referring to the ratio of the total of test and research expenses and development expenses (referring to the "development expenses" as defined in Article 14, paragraph (1), item (iii) of the Order for the Enforcement of the Corporation Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 97 of 1965) and the cost specifically incurred in launching a new business) in a given financial year to the amount of income (the amount derived by deducting from gross revenue the income from the transfer of fixed assets or of "securities" as defined in Article 2, item (xxi) of the Corporation Tax Act (Act No. 34 of 1965)); the same applies hereinafter) of the contracting organization (limited to small and medium-sized enterprises) exceeds three one-hundredth | 5 |
| (d) the foreign national holds a foreign qualification, has received awards, or has other proof of a high level of expert knowledge, ability, or experience which relates to the work the foreign national engages in and which, having consulted the head of the relevant administrative organ, the Minister of Justice has recognized as being conducive to the promotion of the creation of innovation (excluding those that correspond to the items for research achievement in this table) | 5 |
| (e) the foreign national has graduated from a university in Japan, or has completed a graduate school course in Japan and been awarded a degree | 10 |
| (f) the foreign national has graduated from a foreign university majoring in Japanese language, or it has been proven by examination that the foreign national possesses the ability to comprehend the Japanese language as used not just in everyday situations, but also in a broader range of situations, including those that involve the use of somewhat logically complicated Japanese language | 15 |
| (g) it has been proven by examination that the foreign national not only can comprehend the Japanese language as used in everyday situations, but also possesses the ability to understand to some extent the Japanese language used in a broader range of situations, including those that involve the use of somewhat logically complicated Japanese language (excluding cases where sub-item (e) or (f) applies) | 10 |
| (h) the foreign national is in charge of a business which, having consulted the head of the relevant administrative organ, the Minister of Justice recognizes as a leading business in a field that is expected to grow and develop in the future | 10 |
| (i) the foreign national has graduated from a university which, having consulted the head of the relevant administrative organ, the Minister of Justice has designated through public notice, or has completed a graduate school course of such a university and been awarded a degree | 10 |
| (j) the foreign national has completed a training course which is implemented by the Japanese government or an organization commissioned by the Japanese government, and which the Minister of Justice has designated through public notice (with respect to training courses which are conducted through the use of lectures at universities or graduate schools in Japan, excluding cases where sub-item (e) applies) | 5 |
| (k) the contracting organization has received support from a local government for the purpose of strengthening the international competitiveness of industry and forming a base for international economic activities, by way of the grant of a subsidy for necessary expenses or by another method equivalent thereto, which the Minister of Justice recognizes as promoting the acceptance of highly skilled foreign personnel in that local government | 10 |