Panama's working holiday scheme took effect on 1 November 2026, and MOFA has now put the annual quota at 100 places, the figure that was missing when the amendment was announced.
A draft revision of the sector operating policies put to the Immigration Services Agency's expert panel on 19 October 2026 would add work categories and tasks across four Specified Skilled Worker fields and make aviation an Employment for Skill Development field.
A 26 October 2026 revision to the food service field's operating annex adds anti-hosting duties where a Specified Skilled Worker is placed in a licensed entertainment venue inside a hotel, renames both of the field's skills tests, and states A2.2 and B1 as the Japanese-language levels.
The Immigration Services Agency wants to ask arriving foreign nationals whether they intend to obey Japanese law, and the draft quietly replaces the form used by re-entry permit holders too.
A draft put to the Immigration Services Agency's expert panel on 19 October 2026 would move 20,000 care-sector acceptance places from Employment for Skill Development to Specified Skilled Worker (i), to keep the field from hitting its ceiling in the second half of fiscal 2027.
In papers dated 20 October 2026, Keidanren asked the government not to tie residence renewals to the planned Japanese-language and daily-life learning programme, while the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked for attendance to be counted at screening and renewal.