The Specified Skilled Worker visa (特定技能, often shortened to SSW) opened a route into Japan for workers in a list of industries facing labour shortages. It comes with a Japanese-language requirement that is more modest than people expect — and a set of details that catch people out.
This is what the requirement actually is.
The level required
Roughly A2 on the CEFR — able to handle everyday conversation and manage daily life with limited difficulty. Not fluency. Not business Japanese.
Two tests satisfy it, and you need only one:
| Route | Requirement |
|---|---|
| JFT-Basic | A score of 200 or above — the A2.2 band |
| JLPT | N4 or above |
Neither is preferred by immigration. A pass is a pass.
Since August 2026 JFT-Basic also reports A2.1 (175–199) and A1 (145–174). Those are not enough for Specified Skilled Worker — 200 remains the threshold — but they matter for the programme below.
Choosing between them
The practical differences matter more than the content differences.
JFT-Basic is computer-based, runs roughly monthly at Prometric centres across a long list of countries, gives a provisional score on screen immediately, and allows a retake after 45 days if you scored under 200. It is built around exactly the situations an SSW worker meets — a supervisor’s request, a safety notice, a shift roster.
The JLPT is paper-based, runs twice a year (July and December), takes about two months to return results, and is a general proficiency credential recognised by schools and employers well beyond the visa system.
If the visa timeline is the binding constraint, JFT-Basic is usually the right answer purely on frequency. If you already have N4, or a July or December sitting fits anyway, the JLPT gives you a credential that keeps working afterwards.
There is a fuller comparison in JFT-Basic vs JLPT N4.
Employment for Skill Development: what changes in 2027
The Technical Intern Training programme (技能実習) is being abolished on 1 April 2027 and replaced by Employment for Skill Development (育成就労, ikusei shuro).
The difference matters if you are planning more than a year ahead. Technical Intern Training was framed as skills transfer; Employment for Skill Development is explicitly a route into Specified Skilled Worker status. Workers spend up to three years in a shortage sector, and those who pass the technical and language exams can move to Specified Skilled Worker (i) without leaving Japan. It also allows changing employer within the same sector after one to two years, which the old programme did not.
This is the reason JFT-Basic started reporting A1 and A2.1 in August 2026: the new programme needs a way to evidence a level below A2.2. Broadly:
- A1 (145–174) — entering Employment for Skill Development
- A2.1 (175–199) — mainly for voluntary employer changes within the programme
- A2.2 (200+) — moving up to Specified Skilled Worker (i)
Rules for the transition are still being implemented. Confirm your own position with the Immigration Services Agency or your accepting organisation rather than planning from an article.
The language test is only half of it
This is the most common misunderstanding, and it is expensive.
For SSW (i) you generally need both:
- A Japanese-language test — JFT-Basic 200+, or JLPT N4+
- A skills test for your specific industry (技能測定試験)
The skills test is separate, industry-specific, and has its own schedule and registration. Passing the language test alone does not qualify you for anything.
Industries covered by the SSW system include nursing care, building cleaning, manufacturing fields, construction, shipbuilding, automobile maintenance, aviation, accommodation, agriculture, fishery, food and beverage manufacturing, and food service. The list has been expanded over time, so check the current scope for your field.
Who is exempt
If you completed Technical Intern Training (技能実習 2号) satisfactorily in a field corresponding to your intended SSW work, you are generally exempt from both the language test and the skills test. Note the 2027 change described above: Technical Intern Training is being abolished, so check how the transition treats your own case rather than assuming this exemption is permanent.
This is a significant exemption and worth confirming before you spend money on exams you may not need. Whether your training corresponds to your intended field is a determination for the Immigration Services Agency or your accepting organisation — not something to judge yourself from a website.
Nursing care has an extra step
The nursing care field (介護) has historically carried an additional requirement beyond the general language test: a care-specific Japanese evaluation covering the vocabulary and situations of care work.
If nursing care is your field, budget for this and check the current requirement early. It changes the preparation you need — not just more Japanese, but different Japanese.
SSW (i) and SSW (ii)
The system has two tiers.
SSW (i) / 特定技能1号 is the entry route. It permits a stay of up to five years in total and does not generally allow you to bring family. This is the tier the tests above apply to.
SSW (ii) / 特定技能2号 is for workers with higher skills. It is renewable without the five-year ceiling and allows family to accompany you. It has its own, higher requirements and a different route in — usually progression from SSW (i) with demonstrated skill, rather than direct application.
Most people reading about the language requirement are looking at SSW (i).
What to actually do
1. Confirm your field and your exemption status. Check with your accepting organisation or a registered support organisation whether you need the tests at all.
2. Pick your language test on timeline. Need it this year? JFT-Basic. Already hold N4? You are done on the language side.
3. Sit a mock test now to find your starting point. Our JFT-Basic mock test and JLPT N4 practice test are free and explain every answer. Twenty minutes will tell you whether you are weeks or months away.
4. Register early. For JFT-Basic, seats at your nearest centre are finite even though sittings are frequent. For the JLPT, missing the registration deadline costs you six months.
5. Book the skills test too. It has its own calendar and its own preparation.
Preparing for the language test specifically
Whichever test you take, the highest-return work for an SSW candidate is the same:
- Listening, daily. It is a quarter of JFT-Basic and it is the JLPT section with the sectional minimum people miss.
- Workplace politeness. The honorific and humble forms you will hear from a supervisor and use back — お〜ください, 〜ていただけますか, 〜ております. JFT-Basic tests these directly.
- Functional reading. Notices, rosters, safety instructions, short internal messages. Not literature.
- Numbers, times and counters. A startling proportion of both exams’ listening sections turns on getting a number right.
More on the method in how to improve Japanese listening.
Next steps
- Take the free JFT-Basic mock test
- JFT-Basic explained — format, scoring and registration
- JFT-Basic vs JLPT N4 — a full comparison
Visa requirements are set by Japan’s Immigration Services Agency and have changed more than once since the SSW system began. Nothing in this article is immigration advice — confirm the current rules with the Immigration Services Agency, your accepting organisation or a qualified adviser before making decisions.