Jobs in Japan for Filipinos Without Experience: Legal Routes

Key Takeaways

You do not need years of work experience to work in Japan legally. Two routes accept beginners: Specified Skilled Worker (i), and Employment for Skill Development (Ikusei Shuro), which starts on April 1, 2027.
For Specified Skilled Worker (i), passing a skills test and a Japanese test takes the place of experience. The official list of requirements has no minimum number of years of work.
Ikusei Shuro has no skill or Japanese requirement at entry. It develops workers over 3 years in Japan toward the Specified Skilled Worker (i) level. Before you start work, you must pass an A1-level Japanese test or take at least 100 hours of an A1-level course.
Ikusei Shuro starts on April 1, 2027. The official pages checked for this guide do not say that recruitment is open now.
Treat any offer that says "no experience needed" together with "high salary" as suspicious first. A salary is "too high" when it is much higher than the average for the same type of work.
A legal Specified Skilled Worker employer in Japan may not take a deposit from you, may not make you sign a contract with penalties, and may not charge you for support costs. Your pay must be equal to or more than a Japanese worker's pay for the same work.
Before you pay anything, check that the recruiter holds a valid DMW license, and talk to friends, people who went before you, or professionals.

Can a Filipino with no work experience work in Japan legally?

Yes. Two legal routes do not ask for previous work experience:

Specified Skilled Worker (i), often shortened to SSW (i). You show your skill and Japanese level by passing tests.
Employment for Skill Development, called Ikusei Shuro (育成就労) in Japanese. It starts on April 1, 2027. You learn the job in Japan over 3 years.

Both are statuses of residence. A status of residence is the legal category that decides what a foreign national may do in Japan. People often call it a "visa."

Other routes exist. Office work under the status "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (often called Gijinkoku) and teaching jobs have their own requirements, and they are not the subject of this guide. For a side-by-side view of all routes, see /routes.

Route 1: SSW (i), where tests take the place of experience

What SSW (i) is

The Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) describes SSW (i) as a status of residence for foreign nationals in jobs that require "considerable knowledge of or experience in" specified industry fields. The key point for beginners is how that knowledge is confirmed: by exams. The skill level is confirmed by a skills test, and the Japanese level is confirmed by a Japanese test. People who completed Technical Intern Training (ii) are exempt from these exams.

In other words, the system does not measure your past jobs. It measures what you can show on a test.

Requirements for the worker

According to the ISA pamphlet, a foreign national applying for SSW (i):

is 18 years of age or older
has passed the skills exam and the Japanese language test (Technical Intern Training (ii) completers are exempt)
has not stayed in Japan for more than 5 years in total under SSW (i)
has not paid a security deposit and has not signed a contract with penalties
fully understands the details of any expenses they must pay themselves

A minimum number of years of work experience is not on this list.

Period of stay and family

SSW (i) allows a stay of up to 5 years in total.
Bringing family members is basically not permitted.

Which fields use SSW (i)

The ISA SSW page names these fields in its current notices:

Fields named on the ISA SSW page
Automobile transportation
Food service
Construction
Nursing care
Agriculture
Industrial product manufacturing
Food and beverage manufacturing
Building cleaning
Railway
Aviation
Forestry
Accommodation
Shipbuilding and ship machinery
Fishery
Logistics warehousing
Linen supply
Resource recycling
Automobile repair and maintenance

Each field has its own skills test, which is a field-specific exam that confirms SSW-level skill.

The Japanese test: JFT-Basic

The JFT-Basic (Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) is used to measure the Japanese level needed for SSW (i), Employment for Skill Development, and the Student status.

Item	Details
Format	Computer-based testing (CBT): you take it on a computer at a test center
Length	About 50 questions in 60 minutes
Sections	Script and Vocabulary; Conversation and Expression; Listening Comprehension; Reading Comprehension
Score scale	10 to 250
Levels	145–174 = A1; 175–199 = A2.1; 200–250 = A2.2 (A2)

A1 and A2 are levels on the CEFR, an international scale of language ability. A1 is the most basic level, and A2 is the next one. Since August 2026, JFT-Basic results show A1 and A2.1 as well. Until July 2026, the test measured only A2.2 (A2).

This guide does not cover the SSW application steps. Test types and dates are on /tests, and the cost of the whole process and take-home pay are on /money. The SSW application steps are explained in How to Apply for an SSW Visa in Japan: Every Step in Order.

Route 2: Ikusei Shuro (Employment for Skill Development), from April 1, 2027

What Ikusei Shuro is

Ikusei Shuro is a new system that takes effect on April 1, 2027 (some provisions differ). The law was promulgated on June 21, 2024. It replaces the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP, 技能実習).

According to the ISA Q&A, its purpose is to develop people with SSW (i)-level skills through 3 years of work in Japan in fields with labor shortages, and to secure workers for those fields.

Why it suits people with no experience

No previous job requirement. Under TITP, a worker needed to have done the same kind of work in their home country (the "previous job requirement"), and there was also a "return-home requirement." Under Ikusei Shuro, neither is required.
No skill or Japanese requirement at entry. The ISA Q&A states that there are no skill or Japanese language requirements at the time of entry.
Japanese before you start work. Before starting work, the worker must either pass a Japanese test at A1 level or higher, or take 100 hours or more of an A1-level course in the "employment" course of a certified Japanese language institution.
Not passing A1 does not block entry. You are not refused entry only because you have not passed the A1 test. In that case, you take the A1 course after you arrive.

Moving on to SSW (i)

After the training period, a worker who wants to move to SSW (i) must pass:

a skills test (for example, the Skills Proficiency Test Grade 3, or the SSW (i) evaluation test), and
a Japanese test at A2.2 or higher (for example, JFT-Basic A2.2 or JLPT N4, a level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test).

Unlike the TITP route, there is no test exemption here.

Fees and changing employers

A sending organization (the agency in your home country that recruits and sends workers) may charge the worker no more than 2 months of the scheduled monthly base salary. Costs above this cap are paid by the employer or the supervising organization (the organization in Japan that supervises Ikusei Shuro employers).
A worker may change employer by their own choice within the same work category, after a restriction period set for each field, if the worker meets the skill and Japanese standards.

Can you apply now?

The system starts on April 1, 2027. The official sources checked for this guide do not say that recruitment is open. If someone asks you to pay now to "reserve" an Ikusei Shuro slot, check the recruiter's license first (see the checklist below).

SSW (i) and Ikusei Shuro at a glance

	SSW (i)	Ikusei Shuro
Start	Running now	April 1, 2027
Work experience needed	Not in the requirement list	No previous job requirement
What replaces experience	Passing a skills test and a Japanese test	3 years of on-the-job development in Japan
Japanese at entry	Confirmed by a test	No entry requirement; A1 test or 100+ hours of A1 course before starting work
Length	Up to 5 years in total	In principle 3 years
Next step	—	SSW (i), after passing a skills test and Japanese at A2.2 or higher
Fees from the worker	No deposit, no penalty contract, no support costs charged to the worker	Sending organization fee capped at 2 months of scheduled monthly base salary

"No experience needed, high salary": how I judge these offers

My rule: suspicious first

When an offer says "no experience needed" and "high salary" in the same post, I treat it as suspicious before anything else. Living in the Philippines, I have seen and heard job offers and recruitment pitches for roles such as a Japanese restaurant manager, real estate brokerage, and website production. The words "no experience" and "high pay" placed side by side are the signal to slow down, not to hurry.

The legal routes above explain why. Experience is not required, but something else is: a skills test and a Japanese test for SSW (i), or Japanese study and 3 years of development for Ikusei Shuro. An offer that promises high pay and asks for nothing at all does not match either route.

What "too high" means

A salary feels too high when it is much higher than the average for the same type of work. So the first step is to find that average. I never trust a single figure. Over many years of checking numbers in my work, I have compared figures from more than one data source before believing them. I have also seen "average income" figures differ widely between sources, because each survey covers different people and counts pay in a different way. When you use a statistic, check three things: who it covers, which period it measures, and what it leaves out.

Average pay for foreign workers in Japan

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) published the 2024 Survey on Employment of Foreign Nationals on August 29, 2025. Here is what the figures cover:

Who: foreign full-time-type workers ("general workers")
Period: pay for September 2024
What it is: "monthly contractually paid cash earnings," meaning fixed monthly pay including overtime pay, before income tax

Group (foreign general workers)	Monthly pay (thousand yen)
All foreign general workers	274.9
Specified Skilled Worker	250.3
Technical Intern Training	210.0
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services	311.2

Two details matter when you compare:

The SSW figure of 250.3 thousand yen includes overtime. Pay for scheduled hours only was 213.0 thousand yen, with 21.3 hours of overtime a month on average.
For all foreign general workers, scheduled-hours pay (excluding overtime pay) was 242.0 thousand yen.

The same survey shows the average by occupation:

Occupation (foreign general workers)	Monthly pay (thousand yen)
Agriculture, forestry and fishery workers	208.1
Carrying, cleaning, packaging workers	236.7
Construction and mining workers	239.4
Production process workers	241.4
Service workers	248.5
Sales workers	273.7
Clerical workers	312.7
Transport and machine operation workers	319.0
Specialist and technical workers	385.1
Managers	558.1

Japan also sets a regional minimum wage, the lowest hourly wage allowed in each prefecture. For FY2025, the national weighted average is 1,121 yen per hour, the highest is 1,226 yen and the lowest is 1,023 yen. The new rates took effect in stages by prefecture between October 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

If a post states pay in pesos, you need an exchange rate to compare it with these yen figures. Use /money for that step. If the offer is far above the average for the same type of work, my rule applies: stop and check.

What a legal employer in Japan may not ask of you

Japan's rules for SSW employment contracts and the ISA page for employers set clear limits. A legal SSW employer:

must pay you equal to or more than a Japanese person doing the same work receives
must give you pay and working hours equal to or more than those of Japanese workers, and must not treat you differently because you are a foreign national
must not hire you if someone is holding your money or property in any name, such as a deposit (保証金)
must not have a penalty contract (違約金契約), meaning a contract that makes you pay if you do not complete the job
must not charge you, directly or indirectly, for the costs of SSW (i) support; the employer pays these

An offer that asks for a deposit "as security" or a penalty if you quit breaks these rules, whatever salary it promises.

Philippine side: who may recruit you for Japan

Under Philippine rules, a Japanese employer hiring Filipinos as SSW workers must receive candidates through a local sending agency approved by the Philippine government and sign a Recruitment Agreement with it. The employer must be reviewed by the MWO (Migrant Workers Office, the DMW office at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate General in Osaka) and registered with the DMW (Department of Migrant Workers). The employer's job order, meaning its positions and conditions, is registered with the DMW. The sending agency recruits based on that registered job order. To hire more people or change conditions, a new job order approval is needed.

This means a real offer is tied to a licensed agency and a registered job order. You can search approved agencies on the DMW "Licensed Recruitment Agencies" page, or use Hanapon's guide at /check. How to read the DMW list yourself is explained in Licensed Agency for Japan: How to Read the DMW List Yourself.

What the DMW warns about

In May 2026, the DMW warned the public about fake work-abroad offers on social media. The red flags it named are promises of quick deployment, high salaries and simplified processing in exchange for large payments. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac added that having an office, a social media page, or foreign nationals involved does not by itself make an offer legitimate.

A case from August 2024 shows these signs together. The DMW shut down a travel agency in Mandaluyong that offered a fake household helper job in Japan. It promised a monthly salary of P60,000, asked an undercover agent for P120,000 upfront, offered "direct hire," and said no Japanese language ability was needed. Secretary Cacdac stated: "Referral is also a form of recruitment." A friend or relative who "refers" you to a job is still recruiting, and the same checks apply.

Note the claim that no Japanese was needed. Both routes in this guide require Japanese: a Japanese test for SSW (i), and an A1 test or A1 course before work for Ikusei Shuro.

More warning signs are listed on /scam.

Checklist before you pay anything

Compare the pay with the average for the same type of work. Use more than one source, and check who the figure covers, which period, and whether it includes overtime.
Check the recruiter's license on the DMW "Licensed Recruitment Agencies" search, and confirm that the recruitment staff are registered.
Confirm the route. Ask whether it is SSW (i) or Ikusei Shuro, and which test or Japanese study is required. An offer that requires no test and no Japanese does not match either route.
Confirm you will be processed for a working visa, not a tourist visa.
Refuse deposits and penalty contracts. These are not allowed in SSW hiring.
Read the contract, documents and payment requirements before you pay. Ask for official receipts and keep copies.
Report doubts to the DMW hotlines 8722-1144 or 8722-1155.

Before you apply: start from your own strengths

The pay figure is the last thing I would let decide a move abroad. Think first about your own experience, even if it is not "work experience," and what you are good at. Choose a field where those strengths will help you pass the tests and keep working. Do not force yourself to apply for a job only because the pay is high. Before you decide, talk to friends, seniors who went to Japan before you, or professionals.

FAQ

Q: Can I work in Japan with no experience and no Japanese at all?

No. Both routes require Japanese. SSW (i) requires you to pass a Japanese test. Ikusei Shuro, from April 1, 2027, has no Japanese requirement at entry, but you must pass an A1-level test or take at least 100 hours of an A1-level course before you start work. An offer that promises a job with no Japanese at all does not match these routes.

Q: Can I apply for Ikusei Shuro now?

The system starts on April 1, 2027. The official sources checked for this guide do not say that recruitment is open. Do not pay anyone to "reserve" a slot. When recruitment does open, check that the agency holds a valid DMW license, and remember that a sending organization may charge you no more than 2 months of the scheduled monthly base salary.

Q: How do I know if a "high salary" offer is too good to be true?

Compare the offered pay with the average for the same type of work, using more than one source. For example, MHLW's survey shows SSW workers earned 250.3 thousand yen a month on average in September 2024, including overtime and before tax. If the offer is much higher than the average for its type of work, treat it as suspicious, check the recruiter's DMW license, and never pay a deposit or sign a penalty contract.

Summary

A Filipino with no work experience can work in Japan legally. Under SSW (i), passing a skills test and a Japanese test takes the place of experience, and the requirement list contains no minimum years of work. From April 1, 2027, Ikusei Shuro offers a second route with no previous job requirement and no skill or Japanese requirement at entry, followed by 3 years of development toward SSW (i). Neither route is "nothing required": tests or Japanese study are part of both.

When an offer says "no experience needed" and "high salary," treat it as suspicious first. Compare the pay with the average for the same type of work using more than one source, and check what each figure covers. Confirm the recruiter's DMW license, refuse deposits and penalty contracts, and get official receipts. Start from your own strengths, not from the salary, and talk to friends, people who went before you, or professionals before you decide.

Sources

Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Specified Skilled Worker pamphlet (English): https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930005373.pdf
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Specified Skilled Worker system: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/index.html
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Points to Note in Employment (Specified Skilled Worker): https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/chuui.html
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Guide for hiring Filipino nationals as Specified Skilled Workers: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/930004801.pdf
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Employment for Skill Development system: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/03_00163.html
Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Employment for Skill Development Q&A: https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/faq/ikusei_qa_00002.html
Japanese Law Translation, Ordinance on the standards for Specified Skilled Worker employment contracts: https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3627/ja
The Japan Foundation, About JFT-Basic: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2024 Survey on Employment of Foreign Nationals: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_61317.html
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2024 Survey on Employment of Foreign Nationals (results PDF): https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11655000/001552246.pdf
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, FY2025 regional minimum wages: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_63030.html
Department of Migrant Workers, Licensed Recruitment Agencies: https://dmw.gov.ph/licensed-recruitment-agencies
The Filipino Times, DMW warns public against fake work-abroad offers on social media (May 31, 2026): https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2026/05/31/dmw-warns-public-against-fake-work-abroad-offers-on-social-media/
Daily Tribune, Mandaluyong recruitment agency shut down (August 2024): https://tribune.net.ph/2024/08/30/mandaluyong-recruitment-agency-shut-down