Hello Work: Japan’s public employment service for foreigners

Hello Work (ハローワーク), officially the Public Employment Security Office (公共職業安定所), is Japan’s nationwide public employment service, with offices in every prefecture: main offices, branches and specialized desks. According to the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training there were 544 of them in April 2024: 436 main offices, 95 branches and 13 sub-offices (分室).

It is run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省). By law it is a body that “serves the public free of charge” (Employment Security Act, Article 8) — for Japanese and foreign residents alike.

What Hello Work can do for you:

You can use it if you hold:

According to the Ministry’s list for August 2026, Hello Work offices have interpreters for English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Nepali, Ukrainian, Thai, Indonesian and Burmese — in different offices and on different days. The times in the table are interpreter hours; if you need an interpreter, contact the center in advance. Any other office: the list is on the Hello Work website.

Note: the centers for foreigners and some other offices cannot process Employment Insurance — for unemployment benefits go to the Hello Work office for your address.

Services differ by region, so ask your nearest corner. How graduate hiring works: shūkatsu; a job-hunting status after graduation: job-hunting visa.

Find the nearest office on the official website or on a map app (“ハローワーク”). Go to the reception counter (受付, uketsuke) and explain why you came. If your Japanese is limited, show a prepared message on your phone or use a translation app.

Some offices have a desk for foreigners with interpreters (外国人雇用サービスコーナー); in big cities there are centers for foreigners. If your office has no such desk, the general counseling counter will help.

You will need your residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo). The staff member will ask about your work experience, skills and the kind of job you want.

You fill in the job-seeker application form (求職申込書). It is usually only in Japanese, so many people use a camera translation app. Staff will help you fill it in; you can also bring a Japanese-speaking friend.

After registering you meet a Hello Work counselor regularly. They pick jobs that match your experience, wishes and status of residence.

When you find a suitable job, the counselor can call the employer directly, introduce you as a candidate and tell them about your Japanese and experience.

If the company is interested, Hello Work gives you a referral letter (紹介状, shōkaijō) to take to the interview. You then arrange the interview directly with the company. How to prepare: job interviews in Japan.

After the interview, tell Hello Work the result.

Applying online yourself. Some jobs on the Hello Work website have an online self-application button (オンライン自主応募): you send your message and resume from My Page without a counselor. Such an application is not a Hello Work referral, so benefits that require one — such as the re-employment allowance (再就職手当) — do not apply.

Jobs entirely in English are very rare. Most positions mean working in a Japanese-speaking environment.

This is a rough guide for Hello Work jobs, not an official requirement. Only some statuses of residence have official language requirements — Specified Skilled Worker, for example, and language jobs on the Engineer/Specialist status; they are collected on Japanese for work. “Teaching” here means work that needs Japanese; teaching English is a separate market — teaching English in Japan.

It is probably the biggest factor in your chances at Hello Work. The whole system is built for Japanese speakers: forms, job descriptions, counseling — all in Japanese.

Job ads rarely state a JLPT level. More often they say “日常会話” (everyday conversation) or “ビジネスレベル” (business level). Positions with customer contact, paperwork or internal communication usually need a higher level.

For most jobs except entry-level and manual work, employers expect conversational to business Japanese. Improving your Japanese is the most effective way to widen your options.

Every job must comply with Japanese labor law, including the minimum wage and basic working conditions. A job that does not meet these standards is not accepted.

But complying with the law does not mean every job is good. As on any platform, quality varies, and there have been cases where the real conditions differed from the ad. Hello Work accepts complaints and investigates.

Since March 30, 2020, under the Employment Security Act, Hello Work may refuse job offers that break the law or do not state the working conditions, and offers from employers that have broken labor law. If the job did not match the ad, tell your Hello Work office or the Hello Work job offer hotline (ハローワーク求人ホットライン) — 03-6858-8609, 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., including weekends and holidays (except the New Year holidays).

Courses cover office work, IT, care work, medical administration and technical trades. Whether a course fits your status of residence and whether you can keep your status while studying: ask Hello Work, and immigration about the visa side.

For many foreigners the best approach is to use Hello Work alongside other channels: recruitment agencies, job sites in English and professional networks — how they differ and how to check an agency: job sites and agencies. Remember: a private agency may not charge job seekers, apart from rare exceptions.

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