Japan to require language proficiency proof for engineer, specialist visa

4/4/2026 at 9:06:50 AM

> for work requiring Japanese

This only applies to jobs that require Japanese proficiency. The vast majority of engineering and specialist visa will not be affected.

It's not unreasonable that a person applying for a job that requires language proficiency be able to demonstrate said proficiency.

by timoth3y

4/4/2026 at 6:06:23 AM

Japan is a bureacracy-driven credentialist Confucian scholar-boner societal nightmare, so pushes for more credentialism are never a surprise. Recently this month laws and fines for bicyclists have gotten stricter. Yes, a human-powered vehicle that almost anyone can ride without a license is deemed necessary to enforce. This is what the government thinks is worthy of its time, and it thinks making immigration harder to do with more bureaucratic entry barriers is necessary when the foreigner population is barely 3%. The process to getting a driver's license is insane. If you want to avoid the Kafkaesque procedures at the license center, you have to go to a school that costs around $2000 and takes several weeks so you can have forced participation in the bureacracy. The United States fails to prioritize anything whereas Japan prioritizes all the wrong places and thinks such misprioritization is good because it considers any centralized action at all to be inherently good. Wheels spinning in place.

by usui

4/4/2026 at 7:45:04 AM

I have been in Tokyo a week ago and that they want to do "something" to affect the behavior of cyclists is absolutely unsurprising to me. Cyclists are definitely a problem in Tokyo. They ride like maniacs, always on sidewalks, even if there are bicycle paths on the road. The actually surprising thing was that the otherwise very ordered and rule-abiding tokyoites are so chaotic when it comes to bicycles.

Now where I am from every school kid gets to take part during a days long bicycle safety introduction and after that most citizens will be relatively ok to ride practically for the rest of their lifes. In Tokyo it seemed to me that tokyoites seemed to have declared bicycling a rule-free space for themselves. I have been there two weeks and witnessed 3 near accidents on the sidewalk.

I am not a fan of bureaucrats, but we can't assume people are able to create a good outcome just by themselves without education, guidance, rules and enforcement. The best way is to educate your population early on on how move in a public space using bicycles. But if you have a problem to solve right now the next best thing is the law.

by atoav

4/4/2026 at 3:44:42 PM

Cyclist in Tokyo here. Maybe I wouldn't need to go on the sidewalk so much if they didn't let cars treat the bicycle lane like roadside parking. Enforce that before enforcing some stupid green ticket. We need dedicated bicycle lanes partitioned from the car lanes like I've seen in Australia.

by krispyfi

4/4/2026 at 5:30:28 PM

Yeah, I am a cyclist myself. The bicycle lanes in Tokyo were woefully inadequate, so many cyclists using the pedestrian areas is not really a big surprise. But what was a surprise (mirrored in one of your silbling comments) was the way in which they did it.

I am living in Germany and there are also cyclists on sidewalks here. But I don't think I ever had the feeling when walking here that I needed to move when a cyclist approached. Cyclists are aware they are not supposed to be there so they will have to wait to pass. That was different in Tokyo, hence also my lack of surprise that there needs to be some regulation, since this was clearly dangerous and with a city that size this has to end up in hospitals on a daily basis.

by atoav

4/4/2026 at 11:37:45 AM

Yeah, I gained a habit of constantly checking over my shoulders because of the people who will speed past you on e-bikes with very little room. Even parents with their kid in the back ride like mad.

by cedws

4/4/2026 at 10:12:37 AM

This was something I really reacted to in Japan. Cyclists had absolutely no manners at all. I know it is popular to complain about cyclists everywhere, but Japan really stood out to me)

by Samtidsfobiker

4/4/2026 at 3:26:06 PM

All of that stuff you listed sounds great, actually. I sure wish my government would enforce traffic laws, raise the barrier of knowledge to drive, and reduce immigration. Alas.

by eudamoniac

4/4/2026 at 7:16:30 AM

> you have to go to a school that costs around $2000

So cheap. Comparing to Germany.

by helge9210

4/4/2026 at 7:33:06 AM

Well, I mean Japan has almost half the GDP per capita than Germany and the mentioned fee is the minimum in a rural area (a place where driving becomes essential), not Tokyo where it's considered the ultimate privilege bestowed upon from the heavens and costs more.

by usui

4/4/2026 at 7:27:24 AM

yes but maybe it’s still cheaper in DE than the time cost of learning JP

it’s cray cray that in non Schengen foreigners can drive 90 days im Germany with their foreign issued driving license, but natives are subject to insane whims of the driving Schule…

by lencastre

4/4/2026 at 8:21:37 AM

They traded my Canadian license for a German one. No tests required. I didn’t even now about the priority signs. I learned most of it when I did my motorcycle license later.

by nicbou

4/4/2026 at 7:57:26 AM

> but natives are subject to insane whims of the driving Schule…

Some natives have started to make "driving Schule" in foreign countries.

by hulitu

4/4/2026 at 8:20:10 AM

That loophole has been closed years ago by requiring classes and tests in your country of residence. I believe that’s the case since almost a decade, but I could be wrong.

by nicbou

4/4/2026 at 7:55:36 AM

> Recently this month laws and fines for bicyclists have gotten stricter

As far as i know, all laws of a country are to be followed, not only a selection of them.

by hulitu

4/4/2026 at 6:42:30 AM

[dead]

by The_Goonies1985