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Workers’ rights · 雇用形態 · koyō keitai

Types of employment in Japan: regular, contract, dispatched, part-time

Japanese companies hire people in several different ways, and each has its own pluses and minuses. The type of employment decides how long your contract lasts, whether you get insurance and bonuses, how well you are protected from dismissal — and whether the job works with your visa.

Compare the types

Your employment contract

Checked against the websites of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Immigration Services Agency on October 7, 2026 · Rights and free help · Work visas

Longest single fixed-term contract3 years

Of fixed-term contracts, then you can ask for an open-ended one5 years

Limit for a dispatched worker in one unit of a company3 years

A week for students and dependents, with permission28 hours

In short

Five ways to work in Japan

  • Regular employee (正社員, seishain) — a contract without a fixed end date.
  • Contract employee (契約社員, keiyaku shain) — a fixed-term contract: one contract lasts up to 3 years, and after more than 5 years of renewals you can switch to an open-ended contract.
  • Dispatched worker (派遣社員, haken shain) — an agency hires you and sends you to work at another company; up to 3 years in one unit of that company.
  • Part-time worker (パート, pāto) and part-time job (アルバイト, arubaito) — shorter hours, often paid by the hour.
  • Independent contractor agreement (業務委託, gyōmu itaku) — you are not an employee but a contractor, and labor law does not protect you.

The first four are employment. The Labor Standards Act (労働基準法, rōdō kijun hō) covers every employee — part-timers and foreign nationals included: the minimum wage, premium wages for overtime, annual paid leave, the rules on dismissal. An employer may not pay you less or give you worse conditions because of your nationality (Article 3).

Comparison

Five types of employment in one table

Type Contract term Social insurance Bonus Protection from dismissal Visa
Regular employee 正社員 No end date Yes: Health Insurance, pension, Employment Insurance, accident insurance Usually yes (not required by law) Strongest: dismissal without a good reason is void Fits work visas
Contract employee 契約社員 Up to 3 years at a time; after 5 years, the right to an open-ended contract Yes if full-time; part-time — depends on hours Often no; an unreasonable gap is prohibited Before the end only for an unavoidable reason; non-renewal after 3+ renewals with 30 days’ notice Fits if the work matches the visa
Dispatched worker 派遣社員 Contract with the agency; up to 3 years in one unit Yes, through the agency Depends on the agency Your employer is the agency — disputes go to the agency Engineer/Specialist — yes; Specified Skilled Worker — only agriculture and fishery
Part-time パート・アルバイト Fixed or open-ended Accident insurance always; the rest depends on hours Rarely The same rules as other employees Students and dependents — with permission, up to 28 hours a week
Contractor 業務委託 As agreed No: National Health Insurance and National Pension on your own No Labor law does not apply Engineer/Specialist — possible with a continuous contract; Specified Skilled Worker — no

How to choose: a regular job gives stability and growth but asks a lot of your time and energy; contract and dispatched work give flexibility with the risk that the contract is not renewed; contracting gives freedom without labor-law protection. Pick what fits your goals and your visa. How to find openings: job search in Japan.

正社員 · seishain

Regular employee

A permanent position is one of the most wanted kinds of job in Japan. What it means:

  • No end date. You can resign with 2 weeks’ notice. The employer can dismiss you only for an objectively reasonable cause, with 30 days’ notice or 30 days’ pay instead.
  • Pay grows over time, usually with years of service and experience.
  • Bonuses are often paid twice a year, in summer and winter. But the law does not require a bonus — check what your contract says.
  • Social insurance: Health Insurance, Employees’ Pension Insurance, Employment Insurance and Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance — by law, not as a perk.
  • Varied work: your tasks and workplace can change; since April 2024 the contract must say within what limits.
  • Heavy workload: overtime and long days happen — the limits and the extra pay are on working hours and overtime.

A regular job gives stability and room to grow professionally, but it takes a lot of time and energy.

契約社員 · keiyaku shain

Contract employee: a fixed-term contract

A contract for a set period — usually from a few months to a few years. What it means:

  • The term is limited by law: one contract may last up to 3 years (5 years for certified high-level specialists and workers aged 60 and older).
  • Pay varies with the company and the contract.
  • Bonuses are rarer than for regular staff. But an unreasonable gap in pay and benefits compared with regular staff is prohibited (see below).
  • Insurance like everyone else: if you work the same hours as regular staff, the company must enroll you in its Health Insurance and pension.
  • Routine work: the tasks are often the same and do not change.
  • Risk of non-renewal (雇止め, yatoidome): the contract may not be renewed. If it has been renewed 3 times or more, or you have worked for more than a year, you must be told 30 days in advance. If renewals have become routine, a refusal without a reasonable ground can be ruled invalid.

After 5 years: the right to an open-ended contract (無期転換)

Once your fixed-term contracts with the same employer add up to more than 5 years, you can apply, and the company must convert you to an open-ended contract on the same conditions except the term. The rule covers contract employees and part-timers alike. An example with one-year contracts:

  1. April 1, 2022 — first contractOne-year contracts are renewed every year.
  2. April 1, 2027 — sixth contractWith it, the total becomes 6 years — more than 5. From this day you can apply.
  3. By March 31, 2028Apply for conversion (無期転換申込, muki tenkan mōshikomi) before the sixth contract ends.
  4. April 1, 2028Your open-ended contract begins.

With 3-year contracts the right arises after the first renewal. A gap of 6 months or more between contracts usually resets the count. A contract job suits people looking for temporary work — just keep the non-renewal risk in mind.

派遣社員 · haken shain

Dispatched worker: working through an agency

You sign a contract with a staffing agency (派遣元, hakenmoto) but work at another company (派遣先, hakensaki), under its direction. What it means:

  • Your employer is the agency: it pays your wages, enrolls you in insurance and is responsible for labor law. The agency must hold a license from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
  • Hourly pay is more common than for regular staff.
  • Clearly defined work: your duties are set in the contract and usually do not change.
  • Help in a conflict: take problems at the workplace to the agency — that is its duty as your employer.
  • Sometimes flexible hours — you can choose shifts that suit you.
  • Pay: it used to be lower than for regular staff. Since 2020 the agency must make sure there is no unreasonable gap with the regular staff of the company where you work — either by comparing with them or under an agreement with its own workers.
  • Risk of non-renewal: as with fixed-term staff, the contract may not be renewed.

Dispatch work gives flexibility and the agency’s support — convenient if you want temporary or part-time work.

The 3-year rule

The same person may work through an agency in the same unit (for example, a section, 課) of a company for up to 3 years. Start on October 1, 2025, and you can work in that unit until September 30, 2028; after that — in another unit, directly on the company’s staff, or at a different placement from the agency. The limit does not apply if the agency employs you without a fixed term, or if you are 60 or older. Dispatch is banned in port transport, construction, security and part of medical work.

パート・アルバイト · pāto, arubaito

Part-time work

  • The same labor law as for regular staff: the minimum wage of the prefecture where you work, premium wages for overtime and late-night work, the dismissal rules.
  • Annual paid leave after 6 months, in proportion to your working days: for example, 5 days a year if you work 3 days a week. The table: paid leave and sick leave.
  • Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance (労災保険, rōsai hoken) — from day one, paid by the employer. Employment Insurance — from 20 hours a week and 31 days of work (full-time daytime students are usually not covered).
  • Health Insurance and pension at work — if your hours are at least 3/4 of a regular employee’s, or 20 hours a week or more at a company with 51 or more insured employees (students excluded). The ¥88,000-a-month wage test was abolished in October 2026: only the hours count now.
  • Students and dependents may work only with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可), up to 28 hours a week — details: part-time work for students.

業務委託 · gyōmu itaku

Independent contractor agreement: you are not an employee

The company orders a result or a service from you instead of hiring you. Freelancers, couriers, translators and many teachers work like this.

  • No labor-law protection: no minimum wage, no overtime pay, no annual paid leave, no dismissal rules.
  • You pay insurance and taxes yourself: National Health Insurance (国民健康保険) and National Pension (国民年金) at the city office; your income through a tax return.
  • Whether you are an employee depends on the real conditions, not the name of the contract: who sets your hours and place of work, who directs you. If in fact you work like an employee, labor law protects you.
  • Since November 1, 2024, every Labor Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署, rōdō kijun kantokusho) has a desk for people who are not sure whether they are freelancers or employees: weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m..

Contracting on a work visa. For the Engineer/Specialist status the contract can be an employment contract, but also a mandate or a service contract — if it is continuous, with a specific organization, and the work fits the status. The Specified Skilled Worker status needs an employment contract. Any paid activity outside your status of residence is illegal; freelancing on your own account needs a status that allows it — more: freelancing in Japan.

同一労働同一賃金 · dōitsu rōdō dōitsu chingin

Equal pay for equal work

The law prohibits unreasonable gaps in pay and benefits between regular staff and part-time, fixed-term and dispatched workers. In force for large companies since April 1, 2020, and for small and medium-sized ones since April 1, 2021.

What changes from October 1, 2026

  • When hiring part-time and fixed-term workers, the employer must tell them in writing that they may ask for an explanation of differences in treatment compared with regular staff. Dispatched workers — when hired and at each dispatch.
  • Bonus and retirement pay: paying none at all, without regard to the worker’s contribution, may be unreasonable.
  • Family allowance and paid sick leave under company rules — equal for staff who are renewed many times and expected to stay long.
  • Housing allowance — equal if you are transferred with relocation in the same way.
  • Summer and winter vacation days — equal for everyone, without a length-of-service condition.

If you think a gap is unreasonable, ask for an explanation first, then get free advice.

Deadlines

Deadlines, and what happens if you miss them

What When If you miss it
Application for conversion to an open-ended contract during the contract with which the total passes 5 years the contract stays fixed-term
Notice of non-renewal (employer) 30 days ahead, if renewed 3+ times or you have worked over a year get advice — the non-renewal may be invalid
Dispatched work in one unit up to 3 years the agency must offer measures: another placement, direct hiring
Notification to immigration about a new or ended contract within 14 days a fine of up to ¥200,000

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • If you are insured at work (regular, contract, dispatched, or part-time with enough hours), a spouse with an income under ¥1,300,000 a year (and under half of yours if you live together) can join your Health Insurance as a dependent, and at ages 20 to 59 also your pension as a Category III insured person (第3号被保険者). They pay no premiums themselves.
  • If you are a contractor or your employer has no social insurance, you are in National Health Insurance, which has no dependents: a premium is charged for every family member. A spouse aged 20 to 59 pays National Pension themselves — ¥17,920 a month (fiscal year 2026).
  • A spouse with Dependent status may work up to 28 hours a week with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可). At 20 hours a week or more at a company with 51 or more insured employees, they join that company’s insurance and leave yours.
  • The Dependent status (家族滞在) is available to the families of Engineer/Specialist holders and of Specified Skilled Worker (ii), but not (i). Details: your spouse in Japan and Dependent visa.

Linked to your visa

Which type of employment fits your status

Linked to your visa.

  • Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務): regular, contract and dispatched work all fit. What matters is that the work matches the status and the pay is at least what a Japanese worker gets for the same job. The contract can be an employment, mandate or service contract — but continuous and with a specific organization.
  • Dispatched work on the Engineer/Specialist status: immigration checks the real work at the company you are sent to. In an example published by the Immigration Services Agency, the agency declared translation work, but under the contract and in fact the job was a shop assistant — the visa was refused.
  • Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能): an employment contract with full-time hours, like regular staff, in principle directly with the company. Dispatch is allowed only in agriculture and fishery.
  • Students and dependents: only part-time work with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可), up to 28 hours a week.

Engineer/Specialist visa · Specified Skilled Worker · Part-time work permission · Notifications to immigration

FAQ

Questions about types of employment

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Ask us a question

What is the difference between seishain, keiyaku shain and haken?

A regular employee (seishain) has a contract with no end date and the strongest protection from dismissal. A contract employee (keiyaku shain) has a fixed-term contract of up to 3 years at a time. A dispatched worker (haken) is employed by a staffing agency and works at another company; the agency is the employer.

Yes. The Labor Standards Act covers every employee in Japan whatever the type of employment or nationality: the minimum wage, premium pay for overtime, annual paid leave and the dismissal rules. Discrimination in pay or conditions because of nationality is prohibited.

When your fixed-term contracts with the same employer add up to more than 5 years, you can apply for conversion to an open-ended contract, and the employer must accept. The new contract starts the day after the current one ends, on the same conditions except the term. A gap of 6 months or more between contracts usually resets the count.

Yes, dispatched work is allowed on the Engineer/Specialist status, but immigration looks at the actual work at the company you are sent to. It must match your status, and your pay must be at least what a Japanese worker gets for the same job. For the Specified Skilled Worker status, dispatch is allowed only in agriculture and fishery.

No. Under an independent contractor agreement you are not an employee: there is no minimum wage, overtime pay or paid leave, and you pay National Health Insurance, National Pension and your taxes yourself. But if in practice the company sets your hours and place and directs your work, you may legally be an employee. Every Labor Standards Inspection Office has a desk for this question.

The law does not require bonuses for anyone. But under the equal pay rules an unreasonable gap in pay and benefits compared with regular staff is prohibited, and from October 1, 2026 the guideline says that paying no bonus or retirement pay at all, without regard to the worker’s contribution, may be unreasonable.

Tell immigration within 14 days that the contract has ended, and again within 14 days when you sign a new one. Not filing can mean a fine of up to ¥200,000. If you do no work in your status for 3 months without a justifiable reason, your status of residence can be revoked, so start looking for a new job early.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a week
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsu
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 daysYou are here
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pension
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Immigration Services Agency on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Your contract and your company’s rules of employment (就業規則) set your actual conditions; immigration decides on your status of residence. For a dispute, talk to the free labor consultation services or a Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi).

Choosing a job in Japan? Many people start with a language school.

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