Who Provides Japanese Language Education under Japan’s Employment for Skill Development Program? A1, A2, 100-Hour Courses and Costs
Who Provides Japanese Language Education under Japan’s
Employment for Skill Development Program?
This guide separates the A1 requirement before work from A2 learning during the three-year development period and explains course providers, online classes, costs, working time, application documents and record keeping.
育成就労制度の日本語教育、Ａ１・Ａ２講習、１００時間及び 費用負担について、日本語でも解説しています。
日本語版を読むKey point: not everyone must complete the same 100-hour course
Japanese language education before employment and Japanese development during the three-year program are separate requirements.
The system does not require every participant to complete 100 hours before entering Japan and another 100 hours every year.
Why Japanese language education is important
Japan’s Employment for Skill Development Program is designed to develop foreign workers toward the Specified Skilled Worker (i) level through employment and training, generally over three years.
Japanese ability is relevant to occupational safety, employment conditions, daily-life procedures, access to consultation, transfers and eventual movement to Specified Skilled Worker (i).
Before work and during the three-year period
| Item | Before work begins | During the program |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Secure basic Japanese before beginning work | Develop toward A2 and prepare for SSW (i) |
| Basic level | A1 | A2, with A2.1 potentially relevant at an intermediate stage |
| Test or course | An accepted test result or prescribed course is checked | Existing proficiency and the development goal are checked |
| 100 hours | Mainly relevant when the person has not passed the prescribed test | Generally structured over the three-year period |
| Records | Test results, course plan, attendance and completion | Attendance, lesson content, assessment and completion |
A1, A2.1 and A2.2
| Level | General ability | Possible use | Important point |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Understands basic fixed expressions and very simple exchanges | Before employment and at the basic development stage | Not completely identical to JLPT N5 |
| A2.1 | Has reached A1 and is progressing toward A2.2 | May be relevant to a worker-requested transfer | Not the same as A2.2 |
| A2.2 | Can communicate basically in familiar daily-life and workplace situations | General target at the end of development and for SSW (i) | Field-specific additional requirements may apply |
JFT-Basic is scheduled to assess scores of 145–174 as A1, 175–199 as A2.1 and 200–250 as A2.2.
Free beginner Japanese self-check
Tommy’s Legal Service provides a free JFT-Basic Beginner Mini Mock Test covering daily-life situations, workplace messages, short notices and listening.
It cannot prove an official JFT-Basic result, A1, A2.1 or A2.2 proficiency or exemption from a prescribed 100-hour course.
Take the Free JFT-Basic Beginner Mini Mock TestWhen is a 100-hour course required?
A1 course before work begins
When the person has not passed an accepted A1-level test before beginning work, completing a prescribed Japanese course of at least 100 hours may be relevant.
A2 course during the program
The general approach is to provide an opportunity to complete at least 100 hours of an A2-level course during the overall three-year period. This does not generally mean 100 hours every year.
How are the 100 hours counted?
- How many minutes constitute one course hour
- Whether breaks are excluded
- Whether tests, interviews or orientation are included
- Whether recorded-video self-study is included
- Whether workplace on-the-job training is included
- How missed classes are made up
- Whether hours from different institutions can be combined
- Attendance and completion requirements
Workplace conversations, informal support, recorded videos and ordinary on-the-job training should not automatically be counted toward the prescribed 100 hours.
Who may provide the Japanese course?
| Possible provider | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Certified Japanese language institution | Whether the certified curriculum covers Japanese for employment |
| Registered Japanese language teacher | Registration, role, curriculum and transitional measures |
| Internal company teacher | Qualifications and compliance of the course as a whole |
| Supervising support organization | Its status alone does not establish course eligibility |
| Registered support organization | SSW registration is separate from course eligibility |
| Overseas institution | Provider, teachers, attendance and completion records |
How to use the list of available course providers
- The reference date and latest version
- Whether A1, A2 or both are provided
- Face-to-face, online or combined delivery
- Available regions and support languages
- Starting dates, capacity and deadlines
- How the 100 hours are counted
- Identity, attendance and completion checks
- Reports to the company or supervising organization
- Tuition, materials, tests and other charges
Are online Japanese courses permitted?
An online course may be used when relevant conditions are met. Watching 100 hours of recorded video alone should not be assumed to satisfy the requirement.
- Live, two-way communication
- Identity verification
- Login, logout, lateness and absence records
- Rules for cameras, microphones and communication quality
- Make-up arrangements for communication problems
- Retention of lesson and attendance records
- Overseas access and time-zone arrangements
Who pays for the course?
| Cost | General treatment | Point to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | Core cost of the Japanese language measure | Which organization contracts and pays |
| Materials | May be connected to tuition | Included or separately charged |
| Official test fee | Separate from tuition | Initial and repeat test fees |
| Travel | No uniform treatment should be assumed | Travel to face-to-face classes |
| Internet and equipment | Necessary for online participation | Who provides the connection and device |
| Administrative scrivener fees | Not Japanese tuition | Identify application and document-review fees separately |
Is course time treated as working time?
It may constitute working time when participation is ordered by the employer, the time and place are controlled or non-participation results in a disadvantage.
- Lessons during scheduled working hours
- Mandatory lessons outside working hours or on holidays
- Overtime and holiday premiums
- Online lessons attended at home or accommodation
- Employment contracts and work rules
- Coordination of attendance and timekeeping records
Documents for the plan application
- Japanese proficiency goals in the plan
- Accepted test results or course documents
- Pre-entry and post-entry course plans
- Field-specific Japanese requirements
- Cost allocation and explanation to the worker
- Course agreement and quotation
- Provider certification information
- Registered teacher documents
- Curriculum and lesson schedule
- Calculation of lesson hours
- Online delivery and attendance procedures
- Completion certificate
Records to retain after approval
- Attendance, lateness, absence and make-up records
- Date, start and end time and content of each lesson
- Teaching materials
- Teacher and qualification documents
- Assessments and progress reports
- Completion certificates
- Agreements, quotations, invoices and receipts
- Records of explanations to the worker
- Online access logs
- Supervising organization checks
Roles of the parties
Confirms the worker’s level, schedule, costs and learning goals.
Checks the plan, implementation, protection and supervision records.
Provides classes, attendance management, assessment and completion documents.
Reviews the plan, immigration application and supporting documents.
Reviews working time, wages, deductions and work rules.
Company checklist
- Current Japanese ability checked
- Official test documents checked
- Need for A1 course determined
- Three-year A2 learning plan prepared
- Field-specific rules checked
- Course provider selected
- Provider and teacher qualifications checked
- Course-hour calculation checked
- Online method checked
- Identity and attendance procedures established
- Make-up lesson procedures checked
- Completion certificate confirmed
- Detailed quotation obtained
- Cost bearer identified
- Working-time treatment reviewed
- Course reflected in the plan
- Records-retention method established
- SSW test roadmap prepared
Frequently asked questions
Does every participant have to complete a 100-hour course?
Does passing JLPT N5 automatically remove the A1 course requirement?
Is a 100-hour course required every year?
May a Japanese-speaking employee teach the course?
Are online courses permitted?
May course fees be deducted from wages?
Are lessons working time?
What can Tommy’s Legal Service assist with?
Review the Japanese education arrangements before applying
Tommy’s Legal Service can review Japanese test documents, the need for A1 or A2 courses, provider and teacher information, agreements, costs, attendance records and consistency with the plan.
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