Due to the impact of COVID-19, many technical intern trainees, Specified Skilled Workers, and other foreign nationals who have obtained permission for a status of residence and were scheduled to enter Japan have been unable to do so and are waiting for the day they can enter. When entry into Japan becomes possible going forward, large numbers of foreign nationals currently waiting to enter are expected to arrive all at once. Air ticket prices are expected to surge at first, and for technical intern trainees, post-entry training facilities are also expected to be in high demand. After foreign nationals resume entering Japan, the next issue expected is securing housing. Housing is also expected to be in short supply as foreign nationals move in all at once. This article explains the housing required when accepting foreign nationals.

Preparing Housing When Accepting Technical Intern Trainees

To accept technical intern trainees, the accepting organization must prepare an apartment for them. Technical intern trainees must also attend a one-month post-entry Japanese language training course after entering Japan, and housing must be provided during that period as well. For both types of housing provision, it is of course impossible for the technical intern trainees themselves to arrange housing from overseas. In particular, many technical intern trainees are coming to Japan for the first time and can initially speak only basic everyday Japanese, so they also cannot arrange or complete procedures related to housing on their own after entry. In addition, foreign nationals have recently been required to quarantine for two weeks after entry with one person per room, which has further increased the effort required to secure housing.

Housing Rules for Technical Intern Trainees

For housing where technical intern trainees will live, company housing should be provided if available; otherwise, ordinary apartments are provided. Not just any housing is acceptable—there are detailed rules. Below we introduce points that require particular attention regarding housing for technical intern trainees. These housing rules are also checked in the application forms when applying for permission to accept technical intern trainees, and the Organization for Technical Intern Training may visit and inspect technical intern trainee dormitories during its regular audits.

  • The housing location must not be near places that handle or store explosives, flammable gases, or other materials with a high fire hazard, or near other hazardous workplaces. It must not be in a location at risk of disasters such as avalanches or landslides, and must avoid areas near places that handle materials with a significant risk of contamination, such as facilities housing patients with infectious diseases.

This rule is intended to prevent the provision of housing that would put technical intern trainees in danger. In particular, it prohibits providing technical intern trainees with housing that has asbestos-related hazards—which was once a problem in Japan as well—or housing in dangerous locations where Japanese people would never live.

  • If bedrooms are located on the second floor or higher, two or more stairways must be provided that allow immediate evacuation to a safe outdoor location (one stairway if occupancy is fewer than 15 people).

This rule requires that housing for technical intern trainees must have emergency stairways or similar facilities in addition to ordinary stairs. Many two-story apartment buildings do not strictly comply with this rule, so caution is needed.

  • Appropriate fire extinguishing equipment must be installed.

This rule concerns whether fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and similar equipment are properly installed in the apartment. Particular care is needed when a company has converted an existing building into housing.

  • Excluding alcoves and closets, at least 4.5 m² of personal space per person must be secured.

Housing where multiple technical intern trainees live together may not meet this standard. Particular caution is needed for apartments where technical intern trainees live in bunk beds, or where many technical intern trainees live in a single residence.

  • If there are two or more groups of technical intern trainees with different working hours and different sleeping times, separate bedrooms must be provided.

For accepting organizations with night shifts during training, working hours will almost always differ. In that case, apartments with one bedroom per person are fine, but if two or more people sleep in the same room, measures such as installing partitions within the room are required.

  • When multiple technical intern trainees live together, one safe must be installed for each person.

This was originally not a rule, but it is now a new rule set out in the Technical Intern Training Act. There is no specification regarding the size of the safe to be installed, but it must be fixed in place and not portable, so simply placing a small safe in the room is not sufficient.

Preparing Housing When Accepting Specified Skilled Workers

Unlike with technical intern trainees, when accepting Specified Skilled Workers, detailed housing rules are not asked about in the documents for the acceptance permission application.

The only rule is that while technical intern trainees require at least 4.5 m² of personal space per person, Specified Skilled Workers require at least 7.5 m² of personal space. However, when transitioning from technical intern training to Specified Skilled Worker status, if the foreign national wishes, they may continue living in housing with less than 7.5 m² of personal space.

Housing Preparation for Specified Skilled Workers

Although housing rules are not prescribed when accepting Specified Skilled Workers, there are three items that the accepting organization or Registered Support Organization must carry out regarding housing preparation.

  • Provide information on rental properties and, when necessary, accompany the Specified Skilled Worker to housing contract procedures and assist with finding housing. Also, if a joint guarantor is required when signing a housing contract and no suitable joint guarantor is available, become the joint guarantor for the Specified Skilled Worker, or secure an available rent guarantee company and serve as the emergency contact yourself.

In the case of Specified Skilled Workers, some may speak a certain level of Japanese, already have money to pay the initial costs of securing housing themselves, or find a roommate through a community of people from the same country in Japan and secure housing on their own. Even in such cases, if the Specified Skilled Worker cannot complete the contract themselves, it is necessary to accompany them for contract procedures or become a joint guarantor.

  • Enter into a lease agreement as the tenant in place of the Specified Skilled Worker and, with the consent of the Specified Skilled Worker (i), provide the housing.

If housing cannot be secured in the name of the Specified Skilled Worker, it is necessary to enter into a lease agreement with a real estate company on their behalf and provide that housing to the Specified Skilled Worker. In that case, only the actual cost of the monthly rent may be charged to the Specified Skilled Worker.

  • Provide company-owned housing or similar, with the consent of the Specified Skilled Worker, as housing.

If consent can be obtained from the Specified Skilled Worker, company housing owned by the accepting organization can be provided without needing to secure housing through a rental or similar arrangement.

Summary

When accepting technical intern trainees and Specified Skilled Workers, particularly strict housing rules apply to technical intern trainees. In addition, for technical intern trainees, each sending country also sets rules—for example, for Vietnamese nationals, rent of 20,000 yen or more must not be deducted from wages (25,000 yen or more in some regions), and for Filipino nationals, deductions of 15,000 yen or more are not permitted. Under Specified Skilled Worker status, many foreign nationals prepare housing themselves or have already lived in Japan for three years or more, so housing rules appear to be set more loosely than for technical intern trainees.