On 13 November 2026 the expert panel on the Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development systems settled the revision of the sector operating policies, filling in the one item October's package had left open. Snow removal in heavy-snow regions will count as a related duty for construction workers under both systems, under eight conditions including a cap of one-third of total working hours. Jiji Press reported the same day that the government is aiming for a Cabinet decision in December.
What the 16th meeting dealt with
The panel took a report on skills evaluation tests and the policy revision itself. The draft carries the changes put forward at the 15th meeting on 19 October 2026: 20,000 care places moved from Employment for Skill Development to Specified Skilled Worker (i), industrial manufacturing going from 17 to 19 work categories, aviation designated an Employment for Skill Development field. Snow removal was in that package too, but flagged 詳細検討中, under detailed consideration, with no conditions attached. The 13 November papers supply them.
Snow removal, capped at a third of working time
The Agency's argument is that clearance and construction both concern road infrastructure, that firms in snow regions already hold clearance contracts worked by heavy machinery, and that year-round work keeps construction crews employed there.
The cap is explicit: snow removal may not exceed one-third of the worker's total working time, 「地域の積雪状況を踏まえても」, even allowing for local snowfall. Where construction work can proceed in snowy conditions, it takes priority over clearance. The worker must be hired as a construction skilled worker for the main job rather than for snow removal, and paid on a monthly salary basis.
The two systems get different rules on working alone
Employment for Skill Development workers may not be assigned to clearance alone at all: 「育成就労外国人は、単独で作業に従事させず」.
Specified Skilled Worker (i) holders may not work alone until competence is confirmed individually, which the footnote defines as continuous experience operating heavy machinery on snow removal across three winter seasons, plus Japanese at B1 or above on the JF reference framework. That footnote attaches to the Specified Skilled Worker clause only.
Both groups work under a designated site supervisor. Night and early-morning clearance requires sufficient rest between shifts and a late-night premium. The paper quantifies neither.
Consent has to be written, and refusal cannot be punished
Before a worker is sent out, the employer must explain the work in a language the worker fully understands and obtain written consent. This applies to workers already in post, not only to new arrivals. A worker who declines may not be treated unfavourably for it.
Training on method, machinery and safety must be repeated before every snow season, including for workers trained in earlier years. Employers must confirm the required special education for the machinery, and a driving licence where it goes on public roads.
What a related duty is allowed to be
The companion paper restates the general test. A task outside the designated work is permitted where it relates to that work, is something Japanese workers in the same job generally do, and is performed incidentally. Working exclusively on related duties is not permitted: 「専ら関連業務に従事することは認められません」. Employment for Skill Development workers must spend at least a third of their time on the mandatory core work.
The snow removal paper describes itself as going beyond the normally assumed scope of related duties, which is why it carries conditions the general framework does not.
The third-year test pass mark rises to 80 per cent
The skills-test report approved 26 test proposals, subject to piloting and post-launch review of difficulty. Where a field sets the Specified Skilled Worker (i) evaluation test as the third-year Employment for Skill Development test and a hands-on production test is impractical, passing the Stage 1 practical test becomes mandatory and its pass mark rises to 80 per cent, against 60 per cent in the original draft.
Hands-on production tests will run in three places only: automobile maintenance (body repair), aviation (aircraft maintenance) and forestry. Every field's test committee must include at least one occupational safety and health specialist.
What is still open
None of this is in force. The draft is a draft until the Cabinet acts, and the December timing is a target reported by Jiji rather than a published date. Newly created fields and work categories cannot accept anyone until the implementing ordinances are promulgated, and no ordinance date has been published.
If you hold construction Specified Skilled Worker (i) status, or are on an Employment for Skill Development construction placement in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku or Niigata, the document to ask your employer about before the 2026–27 snow season is the written consent form. It has to exist before you are sent out, and it has to be in a language you actually read. Our Specified Skilled Worker visa guide sets out the wider rules.
Sources: ISA, 16th expert panel (13 November 2026), 資料2-3, snow removal as a construction related duty, 資料2-2, related duties under both systems, 資料1, expert panel report on skills evaluation tests, Jiji Press, 13 November 2026