Ministerial Ordinance to Provide for Criteria Pursuant to Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
The criteria prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Immigration Control Act") shall be as listed in the table below, corresponding to the status of residence listed in the left-hand column, for the activities in which the person who has made an application as set forth in Article 6, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act (hereinafter referred to as "the applicant") is to engage in Japan.
|Activities|Criteria||
|Investor/Business Manager|(i) In cases where the applicant intends to commence the operation of international trading or any other business, he/she must fulfill all of the following requirements.||
||(a) The facilities to be used as the office for the relevant business must be located in Japan.||
||(b) The business concerned must have the capacity to employ at least 2 full-time employees in Japan (excluding foreign nationals residing in Japan under a status of residence listed in the left-hand column of Appended Table I of the Immigration Control Act) in addition to those who operate and/or manage the business.||
||(ii) In cases where the applicant intends to invest in international trading or any other business in Japan and to engage in the operation of such business, or in cases where the applicant intends to engage in the management of international trading or any other business on behalf of a foreign national (including a foreign juridical person; hereinafter the same shall apply in this section) who has begun such operations in Japan or who has invested in such a business in Japan, he/she must fulfill all of the following requirements.||
||(a) The office for the relevant business must be located in Japan.||
||(b) The business concerned must have the capacity to employ at least 2 full-time employees in Japan (excluding foreign nationals residing in Japan under the status of residence listed in the left-hand column of Appended Table I of the Immigration Control Act) in addition to those who operate and/or manage the business.||
||(iii) In cases where the applicant is to engage in the management of international trading or any other business in Japan, he/she must have at least 3 years' experience in business operation and/or management (this includes any period he/she has spent studying business operation and/or management at the post-graduate level) and must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Legal/Accounting Services|The applicant must engage in duties as an attorney (bengoshi), judicial scrivener (shihoushoshi), land and house investigator (tochikaokuchousashi), registered foreign lawyer (gaikokuhou jimu bengoshi), certified public accountant (koninkaikeishi), foreign certified public accountant registered in Japan (gaikoku kouninkaikeishi), certified tax accountant (zeirishi), public consultant on social and labor insurance (shakaihokenroumushi), patent attorney (benrishi), maritime procedure agent (kaijidairishi), or administrative scrivener (gyouseishoshi).||
|Medical Services|(i) The applicant who intends to engage in duties as a physician, dentist, pharmacist, public health nurse, birthing assistant, registered nurse, assistant nurse, dental hygienist (shikaeiseishi), X-ray technician for medical examinations, physical therapist (rigakuryouhoushi), occupational therapist (sagyouryouhoushi), eye specialist (shinoukunrenshi), clinical technician (rinshoukougakugishi), or artificial limb technician (gishisougushi) must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
||(ii) In cases where the applicant is to engage in duties as a dentist, said professional duties must fall under any of the following categories.||
||(a) Duties carried out as a trainee at a university hospital or hospital attached to a university's faculty of medical science, faculty of dentistry, or to a research institute of a university's faculty of medical science, at a hospital designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare pursuant to the provisions of Article 16-2, paragraph (1) of the Dentists Act (Act No. 202 of 1948), or at a hospital designated in a public notice given by the Minister of Justice as equivalent thereto, within a period not exceeding 6 years from the date of receipt of a license to practice dentistry in Japan.||
||(b) Duties related to treatment carried out at a hospital or medical clinic designated in a public notice given by the Minister of Justice in an area where it is difficult to secure the services of a dentist.||
||(iii) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties as a public health nurse, birthing assistant, or assistant nurse, he/she must perform his/her duties as a trainee within a period not exceeding 4 years from the date of receipt of a license to practice as a public health nurse, birthing assistant, or nursing assistant in Japan.||
||(iv) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in practice as a registered nurse, he/she must practice as a trainee within a period not exceeding 7 years from the date of receipt of a license to practice as a registered nurse in Japan.||
||(v) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties as a pharmacist, dental hygienist, X-ray technician for medical examinations, physical therapist (rigakuryouhoushi), occupational therapist (sagyouryouhoushi), eye specialist (shinoukunrenshi), clinical technician (rinshoukougakugishi), or artificial limb technician (gishisougushi), he/she must be invited to engage in such duties by a Japanese medical institution or pharmacy.||
|Researcher|The applicant who intends to engage in research must fulfill all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant intends to engage in research based on a contract with the national government; a local government; a juridical person established directly pursuant to Japanese law; a juridical person established pursuant to special Japanese laws through a special act of establishment; a juridical person established pursuant to special Japanese laws which required the approval of a government agency regarding its establishment; an incorporated administrative agency (meaning an incorporated administrative agency as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agencies (Act No. 103, 1999); the same shall apply hereinafter); or a juridical person designated in a public notice given by the Minister of Justice which is managed by funds granted by the national government, a local government, or an incorporated administrative agency.||
||(i) The applicant must have a master's degree or at least 3 years' experience (this includes research conducted in graduate school) beyond graduation from university (this excludes junior college) or an equivalent institution in a field of research related to that in which he/she intends to engage, or at least 10 years' experience in such field of research (including research conducted in university); provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases in which the applicant is to engage in research in a business office in Japan to which he/she has been transferred for a limited period of time from a business office established in a foreign country by a public or private organization which has a head office, branch office, or other business office in Japan, and when said applicant was employed at the main office, branch office, or other office outside of Japan for at least 1 year immediately prior to his/her transfer to Japan during which time he/she was engaged in duties that fall under the category of "Researcher" as listed in the right-hand column of Appended Table I (2) of the Immigration Control Act.||
||(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Instructor|(i) In cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at a miscellaneous educational institution (kakushu gakko) or an educational institution equivalent thereto in facilities and curriculum, or in cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at a school other than these in a capacity other than that of a teacher, the applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements. In cases where the applicant is to engage in instruction at a miscellaneous educational institution or an educational institution equivalent thereto in facilities and curriculum which has been established to provide primary or secondary education in a foreign language to children who attend such schools and who have the status of residence of "Diplomat" or "Official" as listed in Appended Table I (1) of the Immigration Control Act or "Dependent" as listed in Appended Table I (4) of the Immigration Control Act, the applicant need only fulfill requirement (a).||
||(a) The applicant must have graduated from university or acquired an education equivalent thereto, or must hold a license to teach the subject that he/she intends to teach.||
||(b) When the applicant intends to teach a foreign language, he/she must have acquired an education in said language for at least 12 years. When the applicant is to teach any other subject, he/she must have at least 5 years' teaching experience in that subject.||
||(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Engineer|The applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties that require skills and/or knowledge pertaining to information processing and has passed the examination on information processing skills that is designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice or when he/she has obtained the qualification in information processing skills that is designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, in which case the requirement under item (i) need not be fulfilled.||
||(i) The applicant must have graduated from university or acquired an education equivalent thereto while majoring in a subject related to the skills and/or knowledge necessary for performing the duties in which he/she intends to engage, or the applicant must have at least 10 years' experience (this includes the period of time spent majoring in a subject related to the relevant skills and/or knowledge at a university, college of technology (koto senmon gakko), senior high school, during a course of study in the latter part of secondary school (chuto kyoiku gakko), or during a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakko)).||
||(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Specialist in Humanities/International Services|The applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties related to representation associated with the proceedings in an international arbitration case as provided in Article 58-2 of the Special Measures Act on the Handling of Legal Business by Foreign Lawyers (Act No. 66 of 1986).||
||(i) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties that require knowledge in the humanities, he/she must have graduated from university or acquired an education equivalent thereto, and majored in a subject pertaining to the knowledge necessary for performing the duties in which he/she intends to engage, or must have at least 10 years' experience (including the period of time spent majoring in the subject related to such knowledge at a university, college of technology (koto senmon gakko), senior high school, during a course of study in the latter part of secondary school (chuto kyoiku gakko), or during a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakko)).||
||(ii) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in duties that require ways of thinking or sensibilities that have their foundations in a foreign culture, he/she must fulfill all of the following requirements.||
||(a) The applicant must engage in translation, interpretation, language instruction, public relations, overseas transactions, fashion or interior design, product development, or other, similar duties.||
||(b) The applicant must have at least 3 years' experience in the relevant duties; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant who has graduated from university is to engage in translation, interpretation, or language instruction.||
||(iii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Intra-company Transferee|The applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements.||
||(i) The applicant must have been employed at the main office, branch office, or other office outside of Japan for at least 1 year immediately prior to his/her transfer to Japan, during which time he/she was engaged in duties which fall under the categories of "Engineer" or "Specialist in Humanities/International Services" as listed in the right-hand column of Appended Table I (2) of the Immigration Control Act.||
||(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
|Entertainer|(i) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through singing or dancing, or through dramatic, theatrical, musical, or comedic performances (hereinafter referred to as "performances"), he/she must fulfill all of the following requirements, except in the cases prescribed in item (ii).||
||(a) The applicant must fulfill any of the following requirements for the activities in which he/she intends to engage; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant's total remuneration for entertaining (in the case of a group, the group's total remuneration for entertaining) amounts to 5 million yen or more per day.||
||1. Deleted||
||2. The applicant must have spent a minimum of 2 years at an educational institution outside Japan majoring in subjects pertaining to the type of activities in which he/she is to engage.||
||3. The applicant must have a minimum of 2 years' experience outside Japan in the type of activities in which he/she is to engage.||
||(b) The applicant must engage in activities related to entertaining through performances based on a contract (limited to a contract that clearly specifies that the relevant organization bears the obligation of paying remuneration of at least 200,000 yen per month to the applicant; hereinafter referred to as a "performance contract" in this item) with an organization in Japan which fulfills all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant intends to engage in activities related to singing, dancing, or musical performances involving the music of a foreign culture at an establishment that primarily serves food and drink from said foreign culture (excluding establishments that engage in business as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the Act on Control and Improvement of the Amusement and Entertainment Business (Act No. 122 of 1948) (hereinafter referred to as the "Entertainment Business Act")) based on a contract with the organization that operates said establishment, wherein the applicant receives remuneration of at least 200,000 yen per month.||
||1. The operator or manager of the organization must have a total of at least 3 years' experience in entertainment involving foreign nationals.||
||2. The organization must employ at least 5 full-time employees.||
||3. The operator or the full-time employees of the organization must not fall under any of the following categories.||
||i. A person who has engaged in or who has induced or aided another to engage in human trafficking.||
||ii. A person who has, in the past 5 years, committed an act as set forth in Article 73-2, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the Immigration Control Act or the act of making arrangements as set forth in item (iii) of the same paragraph.||
||iii. A person who has forged or altered a document or drawing, who has prepared a false document or drawing; who has used, possessed, transferred, or lent a forged or altered document or drawing or false document or drawing; or who has arranged for the transfer or loan thereof with the objective of helping a foreign national illegally receive issuance of a certificate, a seal of verification for landing (including the recording pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Immigration Control Act; the same shall apply hereinafter), or special permission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter III, Section 1 or 2 of the Immigration Control Act, permission for landing pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 of the same Chapter, or permission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter IV, Section 1 or Chapter V, Section 3 of the Immigration Control Act, in connection with the business activities of the relevant organization, in the past 5 years.||
||iv. A person who has been sentenced to punishment for violation of the provisions of Articles 74 to 74-8 of the Immigration Control Act, or Articles 6 to 13 of the Anti-Prostitution Act (Act No. 118 of 1956) and for whom 5 years have not yet passed since the completion of the sentence or since the date on which the person ceased to be subject to the execution of said sentence.||
||v. A person who is a member of an organized crime group as prescribed in Article 2, item (vi) of the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members (Act No. 77 of 1991) or for whom 5 years have not yet passed since said person ceased to be a member of an organized crime group.||
||4. In the past 3 years, the organization must have paid the entire amount of the remuneration that it has been obliged to pay to foreign nationals residing in Japan under the status of residence of "Entertainer" based on performance contracts concluded by the organization.||
||(c) The establishment in which the performances stated in the application are to take place must fulfill each of the following requirements; provided however, that this shall not apply in cases where in said establishment, no person other than the applicant engages in activities related to entertainment with the status of residence of "Entertainer," in which case the establishment must fulfill the requirement in (6).||
||1. An establishment which engages foreign nationals as entertainers must not specify or restrict its audience to certain groups or individuals.||
||2. In cases where the establishment is classified as a place operating a business as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the Entertainment Business Act, all the following requirements must be fulfilled.||
||i. There must be a minimum of 5 employees whose duties are primarily serving customers (meaning "serving customers" as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Entertainment Business Act; the same shall apply hereinafter).||
||ii. It must be clear that persons residing in Japan under the status of residence of "Entertainer" and engaging in activities related to entertainment will not take part in serving customers.||
||3. There must be a stage of at least 13 square meters.||
||4. There must be a green room of at least 9 square meters (in cases where there are more than 5 entertainers, there must be an additional 1.6 square meters for each additional entertainer) for use by the entertainers.||
||5. The establishment must have at least 5 employees.||
||6. The operator of the organization that operates the establishment and the full-time employees engaged in the operations of the establishment must not fall under any of the following categories.||
||i. A person who has engaged in or who has induced or aided another to engage in human trafficking.||
||ii. A person who, in the past 5 years, has committed an act as set forth in Article 73-2, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the Immigration Control Act or an act of making arrangements as set forth in item (iii) of the same paragraph.||
||iii. A person who has forged or altered a document or drawing; who has prepared a false document or drawing; who has used, possessed, transferred, or lent a forged or altered document or drawing or a false document or drawing; or who has arranged for the transfer or loan thereof with the objective of helping a foreign national illegally receive issuance of a certificate, a seal of verification for landing, or special permission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter III, Section 1 or 2 of the Immigration Control Act, permission for landing pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 of the same Chapter, or permission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter IV, Section 1 or Chapter V, Section 3 of the Immigration Control Act, in connection with the business activities of the relevant organization, in the past 5 years.||
||iv. A person who has been subject to punishment for violation of the provisions of Articles 74 to 74-8 of the Immigration Control Act, or Articles 6 to 13 of the Anti-Prostitution Act, and for whom 5 years have not yet passed since the completion of the sentence or since the date on which said person ceased to be subject to the execution of said sentence.||
||v. A person who is a member of an organized crime group or for whom 5 years have not yet passed since said person ceased to be a member of an organized crime group.||
||(ii) When the applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through performances, he/she must fall under any of the following categories.||
||(a) The applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through performances organized by the national government, local government, or a juridical person established directly pursuant to the provisions of Japanese laws, or a juridical person established pursuant to the provisions of a special Japanese law through special acts of establishment, or performances conducted at a school, a vocational school, or a miscellaneous educational institution as prescribed by the Schools Act (Act No. 26 of 1947).||
||(b) The applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through performances organized by a public or private organization in Japan which has been established with funds from the national government, a local government, or an incorporated administrative agency, for the purpose of cultural exchange between Japan and foreign countries.||
||(c) The applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through performances at an establishment of at least 100,000 square meters where foreign nationals regularly perform in order to attract potential tourists, using the sights or culture of a foreign country as a theme.||
||(d) The applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining through performances at an establishment in which food and drink are not served for profit to the seated audience and where no one serves the customers (limited to an establishment managed by a public or private non-profit organization in Japan or one with a seating capacity of 100 or more).||
||(e) The applicant is to receive remuneration of 500,000 yen or more per day for entertaining (in the case of a group performance, the total remuneration for the group) and is to reside in Japan for a period not exceeding 15 days with the intention to engage in activities related to entertaining through performance.||
||(iii) In cases where the applicant intends to engage in activities related to entertaining other than through performances, he/she must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
||(iv) In cases where the applicant is to engage in show business outside of activities related to entertainment, he/she must engage in any of the following activities and must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
||(a) Activities related to the advertisement of goods or businesses||
||(b) Activities related to the production of broadcast programs (including cable broadcast programs) or movies||
||(c) Activities related to commercial photo shoots||
||(d) Activities for recording sound or images on commercial records, videotapes, or other recording media||
|Skilled Laborer|The applicant must fall under any of the following categories and must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||
||(i) A person who is to engage in the duties of preparing cuisine or producing foodstuffs that require skills which were devised overseas and that are foreign to Japan, and who falls under any of the following categories (except a foreign national as listed in item (ix)).||
||(a) A person with at least 10 years' experience using such skills (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to the relevant preparation of cuisine or production of foodstuffs)||
||(b) A person to whom the provisions of Annex 7, Part 1, A, Section 5, subparagraph 1 (c) of the Agreement between Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand for Economic Partnership applies.||
||(ii) A person with at least 10 years' experience using skills related to architecture or civil engineering characteristic of a foreign country (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to said architecture or civil engineering) who is to engage in duties that require such skills. (If said person is to engage in duties under the guidance of a foreign national who has at least 10 years' experience, 5 years of experience will suffice.)||
||(iii) A person with at least 10 years' experience using skills related to the manufacture or repair of products characteristic of a foreign country (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to the manufacture or repair of such products) who is to engage in duties that require such skills.||
||(iv) A person with at least 10 years' experience using skills related to the processing of gems, precious stones, or fur (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to said processing) who is to engage in services that require such skills.||
||(v) A person with at least 10 years' experience using skills related to animal training (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to animal training) who is to engage in services that require such skills.||
||(vi) A person with at least 10 years' experience using skills related to offshore drilling for oil exploration, drilling for geothermal development, or marine geological surveys for marine mineral exploration (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to offshore drilling for oil exploration, drilling for geothermal development, or marine geological surveys for marine mineral exploration) who is to engage in services that require such skills.||
||(vii) A person with at least 1,000 hours' flight experience using skills related to piloting an aircraft, who is to engage in duties as a pilot of an aircraft used for air transport as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (18) of the Civil Aeronautics Act (Act No. 231 of 1952).||
||(viii) A person with at least 3 years' experience using skills related to coaching a sport (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to coaching said sport, and the period of time spent engaging in said sport for remuneration) who is to engage in duties that require such skills, or a person who has participated as a competitor in an international sporting event such as the Olympics or the World Championships and who is to engage in duties that require skills related to coaching said sport.||
||(ix) A person with at least 5 years' experience using skills related to the appraisal, evaluation, and maintenance of a wine's quality, and to the supplying of wine (hereinafter referred to as "wine appraisal") (including the period of time spent studying at an educational institution in a foreign country while majoring in subjects related to wine appraisal) who falls under any of the following categories and who is to engage in services that require such skills.||
||(a) A person who has achieved excellent results in a wine appraisal skill competition held on an international scale (hereinafter referred to as "international sommelier competition").||
||(b) A person who has entered an international sommelier competition (limited to those that restrict the number of competitors to one per country).||
||(c) A person who has been certified by a national or local government (including a foreign government), or by a public or private organization, as being qualified in skills related to wine appraisal that have been designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
|College Student|(i) The applicant must fall under any of the following categories.||
||(a) The applicant must study at a university or an equivalent educational institution, in a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakkou), at an educational institution designated for preparing persons who have completed 12 years of education at a school in a foreign county to enter university, or at a college of technology (koutou senmon gakkou) (this excludes cases where the applicant is to study at a night school or through correspondence courses exclusively).||
||(b) The applicant must enter a university in Japan and study exclusively in a night school course offered by a graduate school which holds classes at said university at night (limited to cases where said university has an adequate system to manage the attendance of foreign nationals who study at the graduate school and their compliance with the provisions of Article 19, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).||
||(ii) The applicant must have sufficient assets, scholarships, or other means of support to meet his/her expenses while in Japan; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where someone else is to pay the applicant's expenses.||
||(iii) In cases where the applicant is to attend courses as a research student or auditing student who is to study by auditing courses exclusively, he/she must be enrolled as such based on some form of examination given by the authorities of the relevant educational institution and must audit at least 10 hours of classes a week.||
||(iv) In cases where the applicant intends to enroll in a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakko) (excluding exclusive study of the Japanese language), he/she must fulfill both of the following requirements.||
||(a) The applicant must have studied the Japanese language for at least 6 months at one of the Japanese language institutions designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, must have proved through some form of examination that he/she has the ability to understand the Japanese language well enough to pursue a course of study at a vocational school, or must have studied for at least 1 year at one of the schools (excluding for kindergartens) as provided in Article 1 of the Schools Act (Act No. 26 of 1947).||
||(b) The relevant vocational school must have a full-time foreign student adviser assisting foreign students with living in Japan.||
||(v) In cases where the applicant is to study the Japanese language exclusively in a specialized course of study at a vocational school, said school must be one of the Japanese language institutions designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
||(vi) In cases where the applicant is to study at an educational institution that specializes in preparing persons who have completed 12 years of education at a school in a foreign country to enter a Japanese university, said educational institution must be one designated as such in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
|Pre-college Student|(i) The applicant must study at a Japanese senior high school (excluding evening high school and including a course of study in the latter part of secondary school (chuto kyoiku gakko); hereinafter the same shall apply in this section), a school for special needs education, a general or advanced course at a vocational school (senshu gakko) or at a miscellaneous educational institution (kakushu gakko) or any other educational institution which is equivalent to a miscellaneous educational institution in its facilities and curriculum (this excludes cases where the applicant studies at a night school or through correspondence courses exclusively).||
||(ii) The applicant must have sufficient assets, scholarships, or other means of support to meet his/her expenses while in Japan; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where someone else is to pay the applicant's expenses.||
||(iii) In cases where the applicant is to study at an high school, he/she must be 20 years of age or younger and must have studied the Japanese language or must have received education in the Japanese language for at least 1 year at an educational institution; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where he/she is accepted for study based on a student exchange program or other equivalent international exchange program of the national government or of a local government, incorporated administrative agency, educational foundation, public interest incorporated association, or public interest incorporated foundation.||
||(iv) In cases where the applicant is to study in a general or advanced course of study at a vocational school or at a miscellaneous educational institution (excluding exclusive study of the Japanese language), he/she must fulfill both of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant is to engage in study at an educational institution that has been established with the objective of conducting elementary and/or secondary education in a foreign language to allow for the enrollment of a considerable number of foreign nationals from overseas, in which case, the requirement in (a) need not be fulfilled.||
||(a) The applicant must have studied the Japanese language for at least 6 months at one of the Japanese language institutions designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, must have proved through some form of examination that he/she has the ability to understand the Japanese language well enough to pursue a course of study at a vocational school or miscellaneous educational institution, or must have studied for at least 1 year at one of the schools (excluding kindergartens) provided for in Article 1 of the Schools Act (Act No. 26 of 1947).||
||(b) The relevant vocational school or the miscellaneous educational institution must have a full-time adviser assisting foreign students with life in Japan.||
||(v) In cases where the applicant is to study at an educational institution equivalent to a miscellaneous educational institution in its facilities and curriculum (this excludes the exclusive study of the Japanese language), the institution concerned must be designated as such in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
||(vi) In cases where the applicant is to study solely the Japanese language in a higher or general course of study at a vocational school, at a miscellaneous educational institution, or at an educational institution equivalent to a miscellaneous educational institution in its facilities and curriculum, the educational institution concerned must be one of the Japanese language institutions designated by the Minister of Justice in a public notice.||
|Trainee|(i) The technology, skills, or knowledge that the applicant intends to obtain in Japan must not be technology, skills, or knowledge that could be obtained mostly through the repetition of simple work.||
||(ii) The applicant must be at least 18 years of age and must be expected to engage in services that require the technology, skills, or knowledge obtained in Japan after returning to the country of which he/she is a national or resident.||
||(iii) The applicant must intend to obtain technology, skills, or knowledge that are difficult or impossible to obtain in the region in which he/she resides.||
||(iv) The training that the applicant intends to undergo must be conducted under the guidance of a person who is a full-time employee of the public or private organization in Japan that accepts the applicant (hereinafter referred to as the "accepting organization") and who has at least 5 years' experience in the technology, skills, or knowledge that the applicant intends to obtain.||
||(v) In cases where the training program scheduled by the accepting organization includes practical training (training in which the applicant is to obtain technology, skills, or knowledge by engaging in the production or sale of goods or in the provision of services in return for compensation; the same shall apply hereinafter), except in cases where the applicant participates in a training program as prescribed in item (vi)-2, the following requirements shall be fulfilled; provided, however, that this shall not apply to cases where the applicant is invited by the national government or a local government or an incorporated administrative agency, or in other cases as designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
||(a) Housing for trainees must be secured (including cases where the organization that arranges the training that the applicant intends to receive secures the housing).||
||(b) The training facility must be insured.||
||(c) The ratio of trainees to full-time employees at the accepting organization must be 1:20 or lower, including the applicant.||
||(d) The accepting organization must have an adviser to assist trainees with life in Japan (hereinafter referred to as the "adviser").||
||(e) Measures such as enrollment in an insurance plan or other means (this excludes workers' compensation insurance) must be in place to cope with the injury, illness, or death of the applicant during training (including cases where the organization that arranges the training that the applicant intends to receive has put in place such measures).||
||(f) The training facilities must have in place the necessary safety and sanitation measures provided in the Labor Safety and Sanitation Act (Act No. 57 of 1972).||
||(vi) In cases where the training program scheduled by the accepting organization includes practical training, the applicant must be a full-time employee of any of the following organizations overseas, and must be on dispatch from said organization, except in cases where the applicant participates in a training program as prescribed in the following item; provided, however, that this shall not apply in cases where a Japanese organization accepts the applicant for training with the objective of developing him/her as a full-time employee of a joint venture company or foreign subsidiary that said Japanese organization plans to establish overseas, when the establishment of said joint venture company or foreign subsidiary has been approved by the competent authorities in the relevant country; nor shall this apply in cases where the accepting organization is the Japanese national government or a local government or an incorporated administrative agency, or in cases as designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
||(a) The national government, a local government, or an organization equivalent thereto;||
||(b) A joint venture company or foreign subsidiary of the accepting organization; or||
||(c) An organization which has conducted business transactions with the accepting organization for at least 1 year or business transactions totaling at least 1 billion yen within 1 year.||
||(vi)-2 In cases where the applicant intends to participate in a training program as designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, the accepting organization must fulfill the following requirements.||
||(a) The accepting organization must fulfill all of the requirements set forth in (a), (b), and (d) to (f) of item (v).||
||(b) The number of trainees accepted by the accepting organization, including the applicant, must not exceed the total number of full-time employees at the organization, and must be within the number of trainees listed in the right-hand column of the following table according to the relevant total number of full-time employees listed in the left-hand column of this table; provided, however, in cases where the accepting organization engages in agriculture, the number of trainees that the accepting organization accepts must not to exceed two, including the applicant.||
||Total Number of Full-Time Employees at the Accepting Organization|Number of Trainees|
||Over 301|1/20th of the total number of full-time employees or less|
||201 to 300|15|
||101 to 200|10|
||51 to 100|6|
||Up to 50|3|
||(vii) In cases where the training in which the applicant intends to participate in Japan includes practical training, the time spent in said practical training must be two thirds or less of the total time spent undergoing training in Japan (in cases where two or more accepting organizations implement practical training for the applicant, the time spent in each of their training programs must be added together); provided, however, that this shall not apply in cases designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice.||
||(viii) The accepting organization and the operator, manager, person leading the applicant's training, and the adviser of the accepting organization must not have committed misconduct related to the training of foreign nationals in the past 3 years (including cases where a person who has been accepted into training and resides in Japan under the status of residence of "Trainee" based on a training program that does not include practical training is made to engage in practical training).||
||(ix) In cases where an organization other than the Japanese national government, a local government, or an incorporated administrative agency arranges the training in which the applicant intends to participate, said organization must not be a for-profit organization. Furthermore, said organization, its manager, and its full-time employees must not have committed misconduct pertaining to the training of foreign nationals in the past 3 years.||
|Dependent|The applicant must be a dependent of a person residing in Japan with a status of residence listed in the left-hand column of Appended Table I (1) or (2) of the Immigration Control Act or with a status of residence for "Cultural Activities" or with a status of residence of "College Student".||
|Designated Activities|The applicant must fulfill all of the following requirements; provided, however, that this shall not apply in cases where the applicant has passed an examination on information processing skills as designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice or has obtained a qualification on information processing skills as designated in a public notice by the Minister of Justice, in which case the applicant need not fulfill the requirement prescribed in item (i).||
||(i) The applicant must have graduated from or completed a course at a university or acquired education equivalent thereto while majoring in a subject related to the skills and/or knowledge necessary for the duties in which he/she intends to engage, or the applicant must have at least 10 years' experience (including the period of time spent majoring in a subject related to said skills and/or knowledge at a university, college of technology (koto senmon gakko), senior high school, during a course of study in the latter part of secondary school (chuto kyoiku gakko) or during a specialized course of study at a vocational school (senshu gakko)).||
||(ii) The applicant must receive no less remuneration than would a Japanese national for comparable work.||