Pre-enforcement Applications for the Employment for Skill Development (Ikusei Shuro) Plan | Acceptance Begins September 1st

While the Employment for Skill Development (ESD; Japanese: Ikusei Shuro) Program is set to commence operations on April 1, 2027 (Reiwa 9), preparatory procedures are already underway. The Immigration Services Agency has announced that it plans to accept pre-enforcement date applications for certification of ESD plans at the Foreigners’ Technical Intern Training Organization starting September 1, 2026 (Reiwa 8). Applications for permission for supervising support organizations have been accepted since April 15, 2026. However, “submitting early does not necessarily mean faster processing.” The preparation status for each field is not yet complete, and submitting applications without completion will result in the review being put on hold. We will organize information from primary sources for HR professionals of companies and foreign nationals who will come to Japan under the ESD program.

The overall picture of the system itself is covered in “What is the Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program? | Explaining the differences from Technical Intern Training, starting April 2027,” and the capacity for Japanese language training is discussed in “Japanese Language Training for ESD | Provision Status of 322 Institutions Nationwide.” This article will focus on explaining the pre-enforcement date procedures, which represent the next stage.

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1. Conclusion: Acceptance will begin. However, “readiness for submission” differs by field.

First, I will summarize the key points in three.

2. The two “pre-enforcement date applications” are different.

There are two types of procedures that move before the enforcement date under the Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program, and both the application destination and timing differ. Please be careful not to confuse them, as the same term “pre-enforcement date application” is used.

Item	Permission for Supervising Support Organization	Certification of ESD Plan
Acceptance Start	April 15, 2026 (Currently accepting)	September 1, 2026
Application Destination	Agency Headquarters Review Division Branch Office	Agency Regional Offices/Branches
Notification of Results	Permission certificates are scheduled to be mailed after April 2027	Scheduled to be mailed sequentially after April 1, 2027
Main Target	Organizations intending to conduct supervising support business	Accepting companies (ESD implementers)

The application for permission for supervising support organizations has a different destination than the application for permission for supervising organizations under the Technical Intern Training program. This is also cautioned in the Agency’s leaflet.

3. How to read the dates (Supervising Support Organization)

The Agency’s leaflet specifically states the timing guidelines.

• If you wish to conduct supervising support business from the enforcement date (April 1, 2027), it was strongly recommended to apply by September 30, 2026 (more than 6 months before the start of business; this guideline date has passed).
• While permission certificates are generally mailed after April 2027, for applications submitted by August 31, 2026, it is stated that they may be mailed in March 2027.

In other words, the end of September is a practical guideline for supervising support organizations that wish to operate simultaneously with the start of the system. Furthermore, supervising organizations under the Technical Intern Training program cannot conduct supervising support business unless they obtain permission as a supervising support organization.

4. Preparation Status by Field (As of August 31, 2026)

There are 17 industrial fields for ESD. When comparing the three publication statuses announced by the Immigration Services Agency for each field, the results are as follows.

Field	Field-specific Operational Guidelines	Review Standards	Membership Procedures for Field-specific Councils, etc.
Nursing Care	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Building Cleaning	Published	In preparation	Started
Linen Supply	Published	Published	Started
Industrial Product Manufacturing	Published	In preparation	Started (Membership in JAIM)
Construction	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Shipbuilding and Marine Industry	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Automobile Maintenance	Published	In preparation	Started
Accommodation	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Railway	Published	In preparation	Started
Logistics Warehousing	Published	Published	In preparation
Agriculture	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Fishery	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Food and Beverage Manufacturing	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation
Food Service Industry	Published	In preparation	In preparation
Forestry	In preparation	In preparation	Started
Wood Industry	Published	In preparation	Started
Resource Recycling	In preparation	In preparation	In preparation

In Miyazaki Prefecture, the sectors with high acceptance rates, namely Agriculture, Food and Beverage Manufacturing, Nursing Care, and Construction, are all still under preparation for all three items. Even if applications begin on September 1st, it is highly likely that the necessary documents for these fields will not be ready.

5. What Happens If You Apply in Haste: Not a Denial, but a “Suspension of Review”

The Immigration Services Agency has issued a warning regarding the following cases:

• If an application is submitted before the publication of review standards, etc.
• If an application is submitted without the necessary documents (especially documents proving membership in sector-specific councils, etc.)

It will be necessary to submit additional materials as specified in the sector-specific operational guidelines, etc., and until then, the review will be suspended.

Immigration Services Agency “Pre-enforcement Date Applications for the Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program”

While it is not an outright rejection, it also does not mean you have joined the waiting line. The system is designed such that submitting after all documents are ready is ultimately faster than submitting early.

6. Countries Requiring a “Letter of Recommendation” from the Sending Country

Among the countries that have concluded bilateral agreements (MOCs) and are designated to issue letters of recommendation for ESD foreign nationals, it is necessary to submit a “letter of recommendation” prepared by a public institution of the sending country for each applicant at the time of application, including for pre-enforcement date applications. As of August 31, 2026, the following five countries are designated:

However, this excludes cases of supervised ESD where employees of foreign organizations with close business ties are accepted, and independent ESD. Letters of recommendation cannot be prepared on the Japanese side. If you are aiming for a September application, you will need to work backward from the arrangements made by the sending country.

7. Changes Introduced by the Revision of Operational Guidelines on August 5, 2026

The “Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program Operational Guidelines,” which serve as the practical guide for the system, were partially revised as of August 5, 2026. Key points with significant impact on accepting companies are listed below.

Item	Post-revision Treatment
Certificate of No Active Tuberculosis	When accepting from countries subject to pre-entry tuberculosis screening, attachment is required at the time of Application for Certificate of Eligibility. Submission is not required at the time of application for accreditation of the ESD plan to the organization.
Period of ESD	Changed from “generally within 3 years” to “generally 3 years”. Plans shorter than 3 years may not be accredited.
Intra-company Transferee (ii)	Short-term acceptance under the conventional company-specific Technical Intern Training will be accepted under the Status of Residence “Intra-company Transferee (ii)” from April 1, 2027. The period of stay is limited to a total of 1 year.
“Continuous and Stable System” for independent type	It is necessary to satisfy both the amount of capital and the number of full-time employees (previously “or”).
Social insurance verification documents	Instead of the Social insurance premium payment status inquiry response form, a Social insurance premium payment confirmation (certificate of no arrears) is required. Local tax payment certificates are required for the most recent 2 years.
Confirmation of living conditions	Interviews on health status and confirmation of living conditions must be conducted once a month, recorded in a management ledger, and kept at the business establishment.
Laws and regulations of the sending country	Acceptance without going through a sending organization may be considered a violation of the laws of the sending country. The accepting company must confirm before application.

Among these, the Certificate of No Active Tuberculosis, including target countries and exclusion clauses, is covered in detail in “Pre-entry tuberculosis screening | 6 Target Countries and Exclusion Clauses“.

8. What Changes for Foreign Nationals Themselves

The Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program is a system that replaces Technical Intern Training, aiming at human resource development and securing human resources. From the perspective of the individual, the following points are practically important:

• The permitted Period of Stay is generally 3 years. There are no distinctions like Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3 as in Technical Intern Training, and a 3-year plan will be accredited from the outset.
• If an individual fails the examination required for transition to Specified Skilled Worker (i), the policy states that continuation of stay will be permitted for a maximum period of 1 year.

Transfers at the individual’s discretion are permitted under certain conditions. Conditions for transfer include passing examinations related to skills and Japanese proficiency.

Passing an examination equivalent to Japanese proficiency A1 or higher, or completing a Japanese language course equivalent to it, is required before commencing employment.

The maximum fee payable to the sending organization is two months’ worth of the monthly remuneration (scheduled wages) stated in the ESD plan.

Working across different fields is not permitted (e.g., working in agriculture in summer and fisheries in winter is not allowed).

9. What Companies Should Do in September

10. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. If I apply on September 1st, can I accept ESD foreign nationals earlier?

You can actually accept ESD foreign nationals starting from April 1, 2027, which is the enforcement date of the law. Applying before the enforcement date does not advance the entry period; it is a procedure to be ready by the enforcement date.

Q2. Can I apply on September 1st even if the sector-specific operational guidelines for my field have not yet been released?

The application itself will be accepted, but the review will be suspended until additional documents specified in the sector-specific operational guidelines, etc., are submitted. The Immigration Services Agency also requests applicants to apply only after thoroughly confirming the publication status.

Q3. We are a Supervising Organization for Technical Intern Training. Can we automatically become a Supervising Support Organization?

No, you cannot. Supervising Organizations under the Technical Intern Training System also cannot conduct supervising support business without obtaining permission as a Supervising Support Organization. The permission standards have been made stricter than those for the Technical Intern Training System.

Q4. Is there a cap on the number of accepted individuals?

An estimated number of accepted individuals (acceptance cap) is set for each sector. The estimated number of accepted individuals by the end of fiscal year 2028 (end of Reiwa 10) is approximately 1.23 million in total, comprising 805,700 Specified Skilled Worker (i) and 426,200 Nurturing and Work. In fields where the cap is expected to be exceeded, certification of ESD plans may be temporarily suspended.

Q5. If a job category is eligible for transition to Technical Intern Training (ii), will it automatically be eligible for ESD?

No, it will not. The cleaning job category (general household cleaning work), airport ground handling job category, and boiler maintenance job category (boiler maintenance work) are not designated as target industrial fields for ESD.

Q6. Can we accept individuals in the form of dispatch?

Only in the agriculture and fisheries fields, it is possible by the dispatching organization and host organization jointly creating an ESD plan and obtaining its certification.

11. Summary

September 1, 2026, is the “starting gun for preparation,” not a deadline. For companies, in practice, checking if the three points for their sector (sector-specific operational guidelines, examination standards, and procedures for joining the sector-specific council) are complete, and submitting the application once they are complete, will ultimately be the shortest path. For organizations planning to become Supervising Support Organizations, the end of September is a guideline for starting operations concurrently with the system’s launch.

Our office offers consultations regarding preparations for accepting ESD, including a review of the acceptance system, organization of necessary documents by sector, and confirmation of social insurance and tax payment status. For differences from Specified Skilled Worker and the transition path, please also refer to “Differences between Specified Skilled Worker (i) and (ii) | Explaining the Latest Target Fields for 2026“.

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This article is written based on publicly available information as of August 2026. Details of the system and implementation dates may change in the future. For actual applications, please confirm with the official information from the Immigration Services Agency or our office.

Author of this article: Satoshi Nakayama, Administrative Scrivener Authorized to File Applications
Representative, Administrative Scrivener Corporation Miyazaki International Legal Office
Location: Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture