The purpose of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act is to provide for fair management over the entry and departure procedures of all persons in Japan, the residence of foreign nationals in Japan, as well as consolidate the recognition procedures of the refugee status.

The terms in the following items as used in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the orders pursuant to the Act are to have the meanings as are defined in each item.

Except as otherwise provided in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and other laws, a foreign national is to reside in Japan under the status of residence (in the case of the status of residence of "Highly Skilled Professional", including the category of item (i), sub-items (a) through (c) or item (ii) set forth in the right-hand column under "Highly Skilled Professional" of the Appended Table I (2); in the case of the "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence, including the category of item (i) and (ii) set forth in the right-hand column under "Specified Skilled Worker" of the same Table; in the case of the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training", including the category of item (i), sub-item (a) or (b), item (ii), sub-item (a) or (b) or item (iii), sub-item (a) or (b) set forth in the right-hand column under "Technical Intern Training" of the same Table; the same applies hereinafter) associated with that foreign national's permission for landing, under the status of residence that the foreign national has acquired, or under the status of residence following a change to either of these.

The categories of status of residence are to be as set forth in the left-hand column of Appended Table I (in the case of the status of residence of "Highly Skilled Professional", including the category of item (i), sub-items (a) through (c) or item (ii) set forth in the right-hand column under "Highly Skilled Professional" of the Appended Table I (2); in the case of the "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence, including the category of item (i) and (ii) set forth in the right-hand column under "Specified Skilled Worker" of the same Table; in the case of the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training", including the category of item (i), sub-item (a) or (b), item (ii), sub-item (a) or (b) or item (iii), sub-item (a) or (b) set forth in the right-hand column under "Technical Intern Training" of the same Table; the same applies hereinafter) and the Appended Table II. A foreign national residing in Japan under a status of residence set forth in the left-hand column of Table I may engage in the activities set forth in the right-hand column corresponding to that status, while a foreign national residing under a status of residence set forth in the left-hand column of Table II may engage in the activities of a person with the status or position set forth in the right-hand column corresponding to that status.

The period during which a foreign national may reside as set forth in paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as "period of stay") is determined for each status of residence by Ministry of Justice Order; and if the status of residence is one other than that of "Diplomat", "Official", "Highly Skilled Professional" or "Permanent Resident" (in the case of the status of residence of "Highly Skilled Professional", limited to those pertaining to item (ii) in the right-hand column under "Highly Skilled Professional" of the Appended Table I (2)), the period of stay does not exceed 5 years.

The government must establish a basic policy on the operation of the system pertaining to the status of residence of the "Specified Skilled Worker" (hereinafter referred to as "basic policy") in order to ensure the proper operation of the system pertaining to the "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence.

The basic policy establishes the following particulars.

The Minister of Justice must prepare a draft basic policy and request the approval of the Cabinet.

When preparing a draft basic policy, the Minister of Justice must hear in advance the opinions of persons with expert knowledge concerning "Specified Skilled Worker".

If the Cabinet approval is received pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3), the Minister of Justice must publish the basic policy without delay.

The provisions of the preceding three paragraphs apply mutatis mutandis to any changes to the basic policy.

The Minister of Justice must, pursuant to the basic policy, establish a policy on the operation of the system pertaining to the "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence in the industrial fields (hereinafter referred to as "field-specific operation policy") in cooperation with the heads of the administrative organs with jurisdiction over the industrial fields which need to secure human resources to supplement the labor shortage through the employment of foreign nationals owing to the difficulty in securing human resources, the National Public Safety Commission, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as the "heads of the administrative organs and others" in this Article) in order to ensure proper operation of the system pertaining to the "Specified Skilled Worker" status of residence in the applicable industrial field.

The field-specific operation policy stipulates the following particulars.

When establishing a field-specific operation policy, the Minister of Justice and the heads of the administrative organs with jurisdiction over the fields and others must hear in advance the opinions of persons with expert knowledge concerning "Specified Skilled Worker".

When establishing a field-specific operation policy, the Minister of Justice and the heads of the administrative organs with jurisdiction over the fields and others must consult in advance the heads of the relevant administrative organs other than the heads of the administrative organs with jurisdiction over the fields and others.

When a field-specific operation policy has been established, the Minister of Justice and the heads of the administrative organs with jurisdiction over the fields and others must publicly announce the policy without delay.

The provisions of the preceding three paragraphs apply mutatis mutandis to any changes to the field-specific operation policy.

Contracts on employment to be entered into by a foreign national who seeks to engage in the activities set forth in item (i) or item (ii) of the right-hand column under "Specified Skilled Worker" of the Appended Table 1 (2) (hereinafter referred to as the "employment contract for specified skilled workers" in this Article and Chapter IV, Section 1, Subsection 2) with a public or private organization in Japan must conform to the criteria specified in Ministry of Justice Order as having the following particulars properly prescribed.

The criteria specified in the Ministry of Justice Order set forth under the preceding paragraph are to include the fact that discriminatory treatment with regard to decisions on remuneration, implementation of education and training, use of welfare facilities and other treatment on the grounds that the worker is a foreign national is not permitted.

The public or private organization in Japan that is the other party to an employment contract for a specified skilled worker must conform to the standards specified by Ministry of Justice Order as ensuring the following particulars.

The criteria specified in the Ministry of Justice Order set forth under the preceding paragraph are to include the fact that the public or private organization in Japan set forth under the same paragraph (including officers if the organization is a corporation) has not conducted a wrongful or significantly unjustifiable act in relation to the laws and regulations on immigration or labor within five years prior to the date of entering into the employment contract for a specified skilled worker.

If the organization of affiliation of the specified skilled worker (meaning the organization of affiliation of specified skilled worker prescribed in Article 19-18, paragraph (1); the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) has entrusted the implementation of all of the suitable support plan for specified skilled workers (i) to the registered support organization provided for in Article 19-27, paragraph (1) based on a contract, the organization of affiliation of the specified skilled workers is deemed to conform to the provisions of paragraph (3) (limited to the part pertaining to item (ii)).

A public or private organization in Japan, which seeks to enter into an employment contract for a specified skilled worker, with a foreign national who seeks to engage in the activities set forth in item (i) of the right-hand column under "Specified Skilled Worker" of the Appended Table I (2) must, pursuant to the Ministry of Justice Order, prepare a plan (hereinafter referred to as "support plan for specified skilled workers (i)" in paragraph (8), Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) and Subsection 2) concerning the implementation of support (referred to as "support for specified skilled workers (i)" in the following paragraph and Chapter IV, Section 1, Subsection 2) to be provided by the organization for the foreign national's work life, day-to-day living and social life in order to enable foreign nationals, who intend to engage in the activities set forth in the same item, to engage in their activities stably and smoothly.

The support plan for specified skilled workers (i) is to include support pertaining to the promotion of exchanges between the foreign national who seeks to engage in the activities set forth in item (i) of the right-hand column under "Specified Skilled Worker" of the Appended Table I (2) and Japanese nationals, and support that enables the foreign national to engage in the activities set forth in the same item based on an employment contract for specified skilled workers with another public or private organization in Japan if the employment contract for specified skilled workers are cancelled through grounds not attributable to the fault of the foreign national.

The support plan for specified skilled workers (i) must conform to the criteria specified by the Ministry of Justice Order.

The Minister of Justice is to consult with the heads of the related administrative organs in advance if the Minister seeks to establish the Ministry of Justice Order set forth under paragraph (1), paragraph (3), paragraph (6) and the preceding paragraph.