Toshiyuki Yamanaka, President of Global Dynamics Inc.
(https://global-dynamics.hp.peraichi.com/)
has traveled at his own expense to most of 103 countries worldwide and writes about global affairs and multicultural coexistence from perspectives including history, religion, and the arts.
If a foreign national wishes to work in Japan as what is commonly called a “white-collar” employee, the essential residence status is the so-called “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” (in Japanese, 技・人・国, read as “Gijin-koku”).
The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act defines this status in a rather complicated way, describing it as activities based on a contract with a Japanese public or private organization, involving work that requires skills or knowledge in fields such as natural sciences (e.g., physics, engineering), humanities (e.g., law, economics, sociology), or work requiring thought or sensitivity based on foreign culture.
In simpler terms, this status applies to white-collar employees who are not engaged in simple labor, not company executives, and not specialists like medical professionals, lawyers, or accountants.
This Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status is popular among foreign nationals because, unlike the Specified Skilled Worker (Tokutei Ginou) No.1 status, it does not require Japanese language proficiency for acquisition and allows family members to accompany the visa holder. Thus, it can be considered a more foreigner-friendly residence status.
However, this status also has many challenges.
First, when a foreigner starts working in Japan right after graduation under this status, it is required that their university (or vocational school) studies closely match the job duties.
For this reason, even if someone majored in Japanese culture at a Japanese university and later developed a strong interest in Japanese society and economy and wishes to work in marketing for a Japanese company, their residence status will not be approved.
In many Japanese companies, new graduates are assigned to departments without strict regard to their university major, considering their personal preferences as well. Their skills are developed through in-house training and on-the-job training. For example, even if they did not study IT academically at university, they may become system engineers.
Demanding a strict correspondence between university major and job duties only for foreign nationals—ignoring common Japanese corporate employment practices—may be excessive and not reflect actual conditions in Japanese companies.
Second, even after successfully obtaining the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status, there are frequent cases where the actual job duties differ from the originally intended activities under the status, sometimes involving simple labor.
Companies may hire foreigners with specific job descriptions but later, due to changes in business performance or content, be unable to assign the originally intended duties. Also, there are cases where the status was obtained under false pretenses to disguise simple labor.
When working in duties that differ from the original status, many foreigners find it difficult to renew their residence status. Even if they wish to utilize their university major in Japan, they may not be assigned appropriate roles internally, and may ultimately be forced to leave Japan due to inability to renew their visa.
I believe the relationship between university major and job type should be interpreted more flexibly. This would also reduce the workload for the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.