Aichi Prefecture is a major hub for manufacturing, including the automotive sector, and more companies are considering hiring Indonesian talent amid labor shortages. Indonesia, however, has the world’s largest Muslim population, and religious observances and daily customs often differ significantly from typical Japanese workplace culture. Beyond understanding the legal framework, building an acceptance system that accounts for cultural background is a key factor in retention. This article organizes, from a practical standpoint for manufacturing professionals in Aichi, an understanding of Indonesian culture, systems to confirm before hiring, and on-site retention support measures.

Why Aichi manufacturers are considering Indonesian talent

Aichi Prefecture concentrates a wide range of manufacturing—from transport equipment to metal products, electronic components, and food processing—and faces chronic labor shortages. Notification data on the employment of foreign nationals published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also show Aichi as one of the regions with the largest numbers of foreign workers after Tokyo, and among them the number of workers of Indonesian nationality has risen sharply in recent years alongside Vietnam and the Philippines.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest country, with a population exceeding 270 million, and has an abundant young workforce. The number of people who pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and Specified Skilled Worker skills exams is also increasing year by year, and on manufacturing floors they are expected to contribute as ready talent in areas such as welding, machining, and food manufacturing. At the same time, institutional readiness as a sending country and the quality of Japanese-language education vary, so at the hiring stage it is essential to have clear criteria for assessing the track records of sending organizations and supervising organizations.

For foundational knowledge on hiring foreign nationals in general, our basic article on hiring foreign nationals also organizes the types of status of residence and the hiring flow; reviewing it together will make it easier to understand the system.

Understanding Indonesian culture, religion, and daily customs

The most important factor in accepting Indonesian talent is understanding their religious background. About 90% of Indonesia’s population is Muslim, and religious practice is woven into daily life and workplace behavior. Points hiring managers should grasp at a minimum are as follows.

The five daily prayers (salat) are an essential religious obligation for Muslims. Prayer times often overlap with factory operating hours, so operations that allow brief absences (about 5–10 minutes) and securing a prayer space (musalla) are needed. Even preparing a corner of the break room where a mat can be laid out can greatly improve employees’ sense of security.

Ramadan (the fasting month) is an important religious observance that lasts about one month once a year. Because people abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, shift adjustments that account for reduced daytime stamina and more flexible working hours that accommodate the evening meal (iftar) are desirable. Lebaran (Idul Fitri) after Ramadan is also a period when requests to return home or take leave concentrate, so sharing leave-application rules in advance helps prevent trouble.

Regarding meals, consideration for halal food—avoiding pork and products containing alcohol—is necessary. Companies with employee cafeterias are increasingly expected to introduce halal-compatible menus and clarify ingredient labeling. Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kementerian Agama) oversees the halal certification system; understanding the thinking behind certification standards makes it easier to handle meals in-house and explain arrangements to business partners.

Regarding attire, it is common for female employees to wear a hijab (a cloth covering the head). When reviewing workwear rules, designs that do not prevent hijab wear while ensuring safety are needed so that religious consideration and occupational health and safety can both be achieved.

Status of residence and basic procedures to confirm before hiring

In parallel with cultural understanding, grasping the basics of status of residence and procedures is essential. When Aichi manufacturers hire Indonesian talent, the relevant statuses of residence are often Specified Skilled Worker, transition from Technical Intern Training, or statuses such as Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services.

For the Specified Skilled Worker system, eligible job categories and skills exam requirements are published on the Immigration Services Agency of Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker system page. In manufacturing, categories such as machine metal processing, electrical and electronic information-related manufacturing, and food manufacturing are included among eligible industries, so before recruiting you need to confirm whether your company’s work falls under an eligible classification.

For employment contract content and working conditions, you can check the latest guidelines and forms on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s foreign worker employment measures page. When employing foreign workers, note that the same labor management as for Japanese employees is required, including application of employment insurance and social insurance and maintenance of wage ledgers.

Hiring routes include transition from Technical Intern Training via a supervising organization, as well as recruitment through Hello Work. Some Hello Work offices have foreign employment service corners where you can consult on how to check status of residence and on subsidy information. When preparing employment contracts and work rules, using labor standards–related forms and electronic application systems published on e-Gov can also streamline administrative procedures.

If you are considering acceptance in advanced professional or technical roles, also referring to explanations of statuses of residence for highly skilled foreign professionals makes it easier to organize the differences in requirements by status.

Common questions from the field

In actual hiring support settings, questions like the following are frequently raised.

The first is how far prayer time should be accommodated. On sites where production lines run continuously, allowing individual absences can be difficult. In such cases, effective approaches include shifting part of break time to cover prayer, or adjusting staffing so that multiple Muslim employees are on the same shift.

The second is whether the cost of halal meal arrangements is justified. Full renovation of an employee cafeteria is a heavy burden, so many companies start with phased measures such as allowing packed lunches from home or introducing nearby halal-compatible restaurants and grocery stores.

The third concerns the Japanese-language communication barrier. Even those who have passed Specified Skilled Worker exams vary in their understanding of site-specific technical terms and safety instructions. Multilingual practices such as manuals with diagrams and illustrations and instructions in plain Japanese—approaches introduced in our article on workplace communication with Myanmar talent—can also be applied to Indonesian talent.

The fourth is that requests for home leave and long vacations tend to concentrate. In addition to Lebaran leave, employees may request extended leave for family ceremonies, and gaps easily arise between leave systems in the work rules and actual operations.

Failure patterns and how to avoid them

Here are several failure patterns that commonly occur when hiring and accepting Indonesian talent.

The first failure pattern is introducing religious accommodations without internal buy-in, treating them as “special treatment,” which creates a sense of unfairness among existing employees. As a countermeasure, it is important to run cross-cultural understanding training for managers and floor leaders before acceptance, and to share that religious consideration is not preferential treatment for specific individuals but part of building an environment where diverse talent can work comfortably.

The second is taking explanations from sending organizations or supervising organizations at face value, only to find gaps in actual skill levels or Japanese ability. Beyond scores on paper, it is effective to ask practical, job-like questions in interviews and to clarify in-house criteria for assessing real communication ability.

The third is early turnover caused by insufficient daily-life support. Housing contracts, bank account opening, administrative procedures, and similar steps are burdensome while Japanese is still unfamiliar. Assigning a clear life-support contact for the first three months after joining and holding regular one-on-ones to catch concerns early helps prevent turnover.

The fourth is failing to track religious event schedules, leading to trouble when they overlap with peak periods. Because the timing of Ramadan and Lebaran changes every year, it is desirable to check the religious calendar when setting the annual production plan and adjust staffing and shifts in advance.

Points hiring managers often overlook

A point hiring managers often overlook first is regional and home-island cultural differences. Indonesia is a multiethnic nation made up of many islands—including Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi—and the intensity of religious practice, dialects, and daily customs vary by region. Rather than assuming “Indonesians are like this,” it is important to carefully hear each employee’s background.

Next often overlooked is the culture of remitting money to family. Many Indonesian workers treat remittances to family in their home country as a central purpose of working, and incomplete explanations of pay structures or overtime allowances can lead to distrust. Carefully explaining pay slips in the employee’s native language or plain Japanese helps build trust.

In addition, consideration for Friday prayer (Jumu’ah) is easily overlooked. Congregational prayer around midday on Fridays is highly important for male Muslims, and some companies consider adjusting break times to include travel to a nearby mosque where possible.

Finally, managing the timing of period-of-stay renewals in administrative procedures is another practical point that is easy to miss. Periods of stay under Specified Skilled Worker and Technical Intern Training are limited, and delayed renewal procedures risk a state in which work is not permitted. HR should centrally manage residence card expiration dates and set up reminders aiming for about three months before renewal.

Diagram: Pre-hire confirmation flow

To help hiring managers cover both system and cultural checks without gaps, the pre-hire confirmation flow can be organized as follows. First confirm with Immigration Services Agency of Japan information whether your company’s work falls under an eligible classification such as Specified Skilled Worker; next carefully review the track records and training content of sending organizations and supervising organizations. Then, in candidate interviews, hear not only skills and Japanese ability but also religious background and daily-life preferences; after a job offer, prepare the employment contract in line with Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidelines. Immediately before joining, arrange the acceptance environment—including prayer space and halal arrangements—and after joining, operate a follow-up system through regular one-on-ones. Visualizing this sequence as an internal manual or flowchart and sharing it among staff prevents over-reliance on individuals and enables a hiring process without omissions.

Practical checklist

  • Have you confirmed with Immigration Services Agency of Japan information whether your company’s work falls under an eligible Specified Skilled Worker job category?
  • Have you reviewed the past acceptance track records and trouble-response history of sending organizations and supervising organizations?
  • Have you agreed internally on the location and operating rules for a prayer space (musalla)?
  • Have you decided how to provide halal-compatible meals (employee cafeteria, packed lunches from home, partner store referrals, etc.)?
  • Have you communicated in advance the shift-adjustment policy and leave-application rules during Ramadan?
  • Do you centrally manage residence card expiration dates and have a reminder system for renewal timing?
  • Have you clearly assigned a life-support contact (housing, account opening, administrative procedures)?
  • Have you conducted cross-cultural understanding training for managers and floor leaders?

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Q1. Which status of residence is common when hiring Indonesian talent? On manufacturing floors, hiring under Specified Skilled Worker (i) is common, and transitions from Technical Intern Training are also seen. If you are considering professional roles, checking differences by status in explanations of statuses of residence for highly skilled foreign professionals makes decisions easier.

Q2. Is securing prayer time a legal obligation? Japanese labor-related laws do not directly mandate religious accommodation as such, but the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare encourages workplace environments where diverse talent can work comfortably. From the standpoint of avoiding trouble and improving retention, more companies are making reasonable accommodations within the operation of their work rules.

Q3. Must halal arrangements always be handled through the employee cafeteria? No, it is not required. Many companies respond in stages while balancing cost and on-site burden—for example by allowing packed lunches from home or introducing nearby halal-compatible shops.

Q4. How long a period should be assumed for Lebaran leave? When travel home is involved, leave requests of about one to two weeks may arise. Aligning with the annual production plan and hearing preferences early is important.

Q5. Are there contact points for consulting on hiring and system confirmation? For system matters, Hello Work and Immigration Services Agency of Japan consultation desks are useful; for overall practical support, consulting specialized support organizations is effective. If you are unsure about handling matters in-house, contacting Foreign Talent Insights is also an option.

Conclusion

For Aichi manufacturers to succeed in hiring Indonesian talent, consideration for religion and daily culture is essential alongside understanding systems such as Specified Skilled Worker. Securing prayer time, responding to halal food needs, and understanding religious observances such as Ramadan and Lebaran are frequent themes in common field questions, and whether preparation is done in advance greatly affects retention. Building an acceptance system informed by failure patterns and countermeasures, watching points hiring managers often overlook, and running a hiring process without gaps based on a practical checklist form the foundation for stable long-term employment relationships. Advance hiring activities with both systems and culture in mind, and aim to build workplaces where Indonesian talent can continue working with peace of mind.

Where to check official information

Systems, employment management, and official announcements by country are updated over time, so also confirm the following primary sources around the time of publication.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kementerian Agama) — check and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management, and official announcements.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare foreign worker employment measures page — check and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management, and official announcements.

Immigration Services Agency of Japan Specified Skilled Worker system page — check and cross-reference the latest systems, employment management, and official announcements.

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