Panama joined Japan's working holiday programme on 1 November 2026, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now published the annual quota that was missing when the amendment was announced: 100 places. The ministry's working holiday page, revised to read 令和8年11月1日現在 (as of 1 November 2026), lists Panama as the 33rd participating country or region, with a programme start year of 2026.
What came into force on 1 November 2026
The scheme runs through an amendment to the Designated Activities notice (特定活動告示, Ministry of Justice Notice No. 131 of 1990), made under Article 7(1)(ii) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The Immigration Services Agency consulted on it as e-Gov case 315000143, which closed on 23 September 2026. The notice was promulgated on 30 October 2026 and took effect on 1 November 2026.
Working holiday is not a work status. It sits inside Designated Activities, granted for a holiday stay in which paid work is allowed as an incidental activity to supplement travel funds; our working holiday visa page covers the category in general.
The figure that was missing: 100 places a year
When the amendment was published, MOFA's page still showed 32 countries as of 1 April 2026 and nothing for Panama. The revised page sets the 年間発給枠 (annual issuance quota) at 100.
One caution on reading that number. MOFA does not state whether the column counts visas issued to incoming partner-country nationals, to Japanese nationals travelling the other way, or both. Where the two directions differ, the ministry splits the row: Argentina shows 200 in one direction and 400 in the other, Estonia shows no cap one way and 100 the other. Panama's row carries a single undifferentiated figure, and the page offers no note explaining it.
Where 100 sits among the other 32 partners
A hundred places puts Panama in the smallest tier of the programme. Uruguay, Malta, Luxembourg and Latvia each show 100, and Iceland shows 30. At the other end, South Korea and Taiwan each show 10,000, Canada 6,283, France 1,800, and Hong Kong 1,500. Australia and New Zealand show 無, with no figure given.
What MOFA still has not published for Panama
No Panama-specific age range has appeared. The page gives the general rule of 18 to 30 at the time of visa application, naming Australia, Canada and South Korea as the exceptions at 18 to 25, extendable to 30 where both governments agree. Panama is not listed as an exception.
No period of stay is stated for Panama, and no document list. On repeat participation, the general condition is never having held a Japanese working holiday visa before; MOFA names the nationalities now allowed to take part twice, and Panama is not among them.
If you are applying from Panama
MOFA is direct about where the application goes: "The application for the visa must be made to Japan Embassy or Consulate-General in your country/region." It adds that the conditions come from that mission rather than from the ministry: "For details, please refer to the website of Japan Embassy or Consulate-General in your country."
One restriction applies regardless of nationality. Participants may not work in 風俗営業 businesses, which MOFA describes as bars, cabarets, nightclubs and gambling establishments. The ministry states that taking such work is a ground for deportation, except where the person is a victim of trafficking.
If you live in Japan and hold a residence card
The amendment adds an entry route and does nothing else. It does not touch any existing status of residence, any renewal, or any re-entry arrangement, so a residence card holder's position is unchanged by it.
What it leaves open is whether a Panamanian national already in Japan on another status can move into working holiday from inside the country. Neither the amendment nor the ISA's summary addresses a change of status into this category, and MOFA's guidance describes only the overseas visa route. Treat that as unresolved rather than settled either way, and ask the regional immigration bureau before filing; the general procedure is on our changing status of residence page.
Brazil follows on 1 December 2026
Brazil is next. Its amendment, e-Gov case 315000144, is set for promulgation and entry into force on the same day, 1 December 2026, taking the programme to 34 countries and regions. MOFA's page does not yet list Brazil, and no quota or conditions for it have been published.
Anyone preparing a Panama application should watch the Japanese mission in Panama for the age range and document list, not the MOFA page.
Sources: MOFA — ワーキング・ホリデー制度, MOFA — Working Holiday Programmes, e-Gov — public comment case 315000143