- Introduction: Challenges in Foreign Employment That Cannot Be Solved by Enforcement Alone
- Overview and Features of the Vietnamese Soccer Tournament
- Foreign Talent Policy in 2026: Current State of Stricter Enforcement
- Utilizing Community Self-Regulation: New Perspectives from the Soccer Tournament
- What Companies Employing Foreigners Can Do Now
- Message to Foreign Workers: Following Rules Protects You
- Conclusion: Support That Accompanies People’s Lives
Introduction: Challenges in Foreign Employment That Cannot Be Solved by Enforcement Alone
On June 7, 2026, a soccer tournament for Vietnamese people held in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, demonstrated a new approach to promoting compliance in foreign employment.
The tournament’s participation requirements are: “holding a valid status of residence (在留資格, zairyu shikaku)” and “being enrolled in Japan’s social insurance system.”
Mr. Do Quang Ba, Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam International Exchange Organization (FAVIJA), which organized the event, stated: “In order to live happily and enjoy your work and studies, you must follow Japanese laws.”
For us immigration lawyers (行政書士, gyoseishoshi) who work daily with foreign employment issues, this initiative is highly suggestive. This is because, while Japan’s foreign talent policy in 2026 has become focused solely on “strengthening enforcement,” this tournament promotes legal compliance through a completely different approach.
This article examines fundamental challenges in foreign employment and sustainable solutions through this tournament’s approach.
Overview and Features of the Vietnamese Soccer Tournament
Tournament Scale and Participants
In its 6th year, this tournament brought together 16 teams and over 300 Vietnamese nationals from the three Hokuriku prefectures (Ishikawa, Toyama, Fukui), as well as Nagano, Niigata, and Shiga.
Most participants are technical intern trainees (技能実習生, gino jisshusei) in their 20s and 30s who came to Japan for work or study. Soccer is the most popular sport in Vietnam, and for these young people living away from their homeland, playing intense matches with fellow countrymen provides significant vitality to their daily lives.
Why “Social Insurance Enrollment” Was Made a Participation Requirement
The tournament’s most distinctive feature is requiring these two conditions for participation:
- Holding a valid status of residence (在留資格, zairyu shikaku)
- Being enrolled in Japan’s social insurance system
Why would such conditions be attached to an enjoyable sports event?
The organizers’ intention is clear: “to disseminate knowledge of Japanese laws and rules and raise awareness of legal compliance.”
In workplaces employing foreign workers, particularly technical intern trainees, problems such as non-enrollment in social insurance and unauthorized employment persist. However, enforcement by authorities alone causes foreign workers to become fearful, companies to avoid hiring foreigners, and no one benefits.
This tournament operates on a mechanism that moves people through “pride” rather than “penalties.”
“If you want to play soccer, get properly enrolled in insurance.”
“Follow the rules and play with confidence.”
Such positive messages naturally spread within the Vietnamese community.
Foreign Talent Policy in 2026: Current State of Stricter Enforcement
Background of Policy Tightening
In 2026, Japan’s foreign talent policy is undergoing a major transition. Main changes include:
Stricter Screening for “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” Visa (技術・人文知識・国際業務, Gijinkoku) (Effective April 15, 2026)
- Category 3 and 4 companies must now submit a “Declaration by the Representative of the Affiliated Organization”
- Those engaged in customer-facing work such as interpretation, translation, or hospitality must provide proof of language ability equivalent to CEFR B2 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 or higher, etc.)
Suspension of New Acceptances for Specified Skilled Worker “Food Service Industry” (特定技能「外食業」, Tokutei Gino “Gaishokugyō”) (Effective April 13, 2026)
- Due to reaching the acceptance ceiling (50,000 people), new applications for Certificates of Eligibility are now essentially impossible
Stricter Screening for Intra-company Transferee (企業内転勤, Kigyo-nai Tenkin) (Effective April 2026)
- Mandatory submission of proof of social insurance enrollment abroad, corporate registration and tax payment status of foreign business establishments, and photos and registration documents of Japanese business establishments
Limitations of Enforcement-Focused Approaches
The background to such policy tightening aims to eliminate improper cases such as illegal employment and fraudulent hiring, and to ensure the appropriateness of specialized and technical activities.
However, enforcement-only approaches have limitations:
- Foreign workers become afraid to “seek consultation,” unable to report labor troubles or human rights violations
- Employing companies avoid hiring foreigners, viewing it as “high-risk”
- Trust between foreign communities and local society deteriorates, and multicultural coexistence initiatives regress
Some local governments have introduced systems paying rewards for reporting illegal employment, but these have drawn strong opposition from bar associations and NPOs as “promoting discrimination and prejudice.”
Utilizing Community Self-Regulation: New Perspectives from the Soccer Tournament
“Pride” Moves People
What makes this soccer tournament’s approach excellent is that it promotes legal compliance through “internal motivation” rather than “external penalties.”
Foreign workers not enrolled in social insurance cannot participate in the soccer tournament. This is a visible form of “disadvantage.”
However, it is not a penalty. Rather, it is a condition for obtaining “the right to play with confidence alongside fellow rule-followers.”
Such conversations naturally arise within the community:
“Are you playing in the tournament?”
“Yes, of course! I’m properly enrolled in insurance.”
“Me too. I follow the rules, so I have nothing to worry about.”
This is community self-regulation.
Ripple Effects on Employers
The tournament’s effects are not limited to foreign workers themselves. They extend to employers.
“Can our employees participate in the tournament?”
When considering this question, employers gain an opportunity to review their company’s compliance status regarding foreign employment.
Social insurance enrollment is a legal obligation. However, many companies view it solely as a “cost.”
This tournament sends this message to employers:
“Social insurance enrollment is not only an obligation but also an investment in protecting foreign staff’s rights and building corporate trust.”
“Collaborative” Support We Want to Realize Locally
What I aim for is support through “collaboration” rather than “enforcement.”
An environment where foreign workers themselves can truly feel that “following rules protects our own future.”
A culture where employing companies understand that “social insurance enrollment is not only an obligation but also an investment in protecting foreigners’ rights and building trust throughout the region.”
And tolerance in local society to accept foreigners not merely as “labor” but as “neighbors living together.”
When these three elements align, sustainable multicultural coexistence is realized for the first time.
What Companies Employing Foreigners Can Do Now
Confirming Basic Compliance
I would like companies employing foreigners to first confirm the following basic points:
1. Verification of Residence Cards (在留カード, Zairyu Card)
- Always verify the original residence card upon hiring
- Confirm the presence or absence of employment restrictions
- Manage residence periods and track renewal timing
2. Social Insurance Enrollment
- Enroll all foreigners meeting employment conditions in social insurance
- Properly deduct insurance premiums
- Maintain enrollment records
3. Confirming Scope of Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted (資格外活動許可, Shikakugai Katsudo Kyoka)
- When hiring international students (留学生, ryugakusei) part-time, strictly observe the 28-hour-per-week limit
- Manage total working hours including jobs at other companies
4. Consistency Between Job Content and Status of Residence (在留資格, Zairyu Shikaku)
- Review whether simple labor is being assigned to those on Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visas (技術・人文知識・国際業務, Gijinkoku)
- Properly maintain employment contracts and job description documents
Never Forget the Perspective of Seeing “People”
Compliance is important, but it alone is insufficient.
Foreign staff are not mere “labor.” Each has their own life, dreams, and family.
Creating an environment where they can work with peace of mind, grow, integrate into the community, and move their lives forward—this is the employer’s true responsibility.
Message to Foreign Workers: Following Rules Protects You
To all foreigners working and studying in Japan:
Japanese laws and rules may be complex and difficult to understand. But they are never meant to “bind you.”
Following rules protects your own rights, protects your fellow countrymen’s reputation, and protects your future.
If you encounter difficulties at work, don’t keep them to yourself. There are places where you can seek consultation:
- Immigration Services Agency consultation desk (出入国在留管理庁, Shutsunyukoku Zairyu Kanricho)
- Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) (外国人在留支援センター, Gaikokujin Zairyu Shien Center)
- Local immigration lawyers (行政書士, gyoseishoshi) and attorneys (弁護士, bengoshi)
- Representatives of foreign communities
We are on your side.
Conclusion: Support That Accompanies People’s Lives
The Vietnamese soccer tournament held in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, showed us new possibilities for “promoting compliance” in foreign employment.
Not enforcement, but pride.
Not penalties, but camaraderie.
Not fear, but hope.
I am convinced that such positive approaches are the key to realizing sustainable multicultural coexistence.
As an immigration lawyer (行政書士, gyoseishoshi), I want to be not “someone who creates documents” but “a companion who walks alongside people’s lives.”
If you have any concerns about foreign employment or status of residence (在留資格, zairyu shikaku), please feel free to consult with us anytime.
Reference Article:
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/1056552
