Japan Temporarily Suspends New SSW1 Food Service COE Issuance: What Recruitment Changes Now and What Employers Should Do Immediately | Strategya Can Help

What changed on April 13, 2026

On April 13, 2026, Japan’s Immigration Services Agency announced a temporary suspension of Certificate of Eligibility issuance for the Specified Skilled Worker No. 1 food service field. The notice states that, after a request from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on April 3, 2026, the agency applied a temporary stop and would not issue certificates for applications received on or after that date. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/03_00176.html))

This matters because the Certificate of Eligibility is the pre-entry document used in the immigration screening process for people who plan to enter Japan from overseas. In practical terms, when COE issuance is stopped, the standard route for bringing in new foreign hires from abroad under this category is interrupted even if the underlying job demand has not disappeared. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/immigration/procedures/visa_00001.html))

What this does — and does not — stop

The suspension is not a blanket shutdown of every food-service SSW1 case. The March 27, 2026 guidance says that applications from people who are already in Japan under SSW1 in the food-service field, including transfer-related applications, continue to be examined in the normal course. It also says certain pre-April 13 cases and some technical intern trainees from medical and welfare facility meal preparation may still be reviewed within the intake-cap framework. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/03_00001.html))

The same guidance adds an important operational nuance: depending on the applicant’s status at the time of approval, the authority may guide the person to a Designated Activities status for transition preparation, or to a one-time extension of stay. That means employers should separate overseas new-entry hiring from in-country retention and status-change hiring, because the rules and timing are no longer identical. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/03_00001.html))

How hiring changes for restaurants and food-service operators

In practice, the immediate effect is a pause in the overseas direct-hire pipeline for new SSW1 food-service workers. That is an inference from the government’s temporary COE stop and the fact that only certain in-country or transitional cases continue to move forward; for operators, this typically means longer lead times, more uncertainty in opening schedules, and greater pressure on frontline staffing plans. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/03_00176.html))

For multi-store operators, franchise systems, and expansion-stage brands, this often forces a quick rebalancing of labor strategy. Hiring teams may need to rely more heavily on domestic candidates, transfers from other in-Japan statuses where permitted, internal redeployment, cross-training, and retention measures rather than assuming that overseas recruiting will fill the next staffing gap on schedule. This is a strategic interpretation of the government’s rules, not a separate legal requirement. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/ssw/03_00001.html))

What employers should do right now

Start with a workforce audit. Split every planned hire into four buckets: current employees already in Japan under SSW1, overseas candidates waiting on COE, in-Japan candidates who may qualify for a change of status, and current staff at risk of turnover. If your company uses SSW1 at all, remember that the receiving organization must prepare a support plan and provide the required occupational, daily-life, and social support, either directly or through a registered support organization. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/supportssw.html))

Next, tighten your compliance and documentation workflow. Review housing, onboarding, Japanese-language support, shift design, and reporting responsibilities, and verify whether your registered support organization contract still matches the reality of your hiring plan. The Immigration Services Agency also notes that changes, terminations, and new support outsourcing arrangements must be properly notified, so this is a good moment to clean up the administrative side before the labor shortage becomes a service issue. ([moj.go.jp](https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/ssw/supportssw.html))

How Strategya can help

Strategya can help food-service companies redesign recruitment messaging for the market that is still available today. That includes multilingual job pages, SEO-oriented hiring content, clearer eligibility messaging, and application flows that are built for faster conversion from search to inquiry to interview.

If your staffing model depended on overseas inflow, this is the right time to rebuild it into a more resilient system. Strategya can support that transition by turning regulatory complexity into a practical hiring narrative, so your brand keeps attracting candidates while your internal team stays focused on operations.