Expanded status of residence program opens up new avenue for foreigners working in Japan.

One of the paths to living and working in Japan is the country’s specified skilled worker program. The program provides status of residence to foreign nationals working in specific fields such as nursing care, industrial manufacturing, agriculture, and hotel accommodation. The system was expanded last year to include a new category, “automobile and transportation business,” and Japan now has its first specified skilled worker foreign tour bus driver.

Seen in the video above is Iyus (no first name provided), the newest bus driver for Okayama Prefecture’s Ryobi Group. The 40-year-old Indonesian man was the only person to successfully pass the first SSW automobile and transportation business test, which was held in December and also covers taxi and delivery truck driver work.

Iyus came to Japan in 2013 as a Japanese language school student and later found work with a travel services company in Japan. Last summer he joined Nikko Kanko, a Ryobi sightseeing subsidiary that operates in Tokyo, with the goal of becoming a driver. Part of the requirements for the SSW (i) classification Iyus obtained is “Proficiency in Japanese language required in daily life and at the workplace,” which he was able to fulfil through taking the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test in the same month as his SSW automobile and transportation business exam.

▼ Ryobi executives introducing Iyus at a press conference following his passing of exams

“Becoming a professional driver is a dream come true,” says Iyus. “I will provide safe, comfortable transportation to our passengers.” He’s scheduled to start driving routes for Nikko Bus in Tokyo at the start of the business year in April.

Source: PR Times, NHK News Web, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Images: PR Times
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