Kaoru Miyatake
Author Kaoru Miyatake Gyoseishoshi / Juris Doctor (J.D.) | MOJ-Certified Application Agent Chairperson, Sakura Training Organization (Public Interest Corporation) / Sakura Central Legal Office

According to the "List of Foreign Government-Accredited Sending Organizations (Ikusei Shuro)" published by Japan's Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT), four countries now have the bilateral arrangement (memorandum of cooperation, MOC) required to send workers under the Ikusei Shuro system, which takes effect on April 1, 2027: Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos. The list covers 16 countries in total, and the remaining 12 are "provisional" — arrangements are still under negotiation and the partner country has submitted a list of organizations expected to become accredited. Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh are all still provisional.

MOCs Rise From Three to Four Countries — Laos Dated August 31

Under Ikusei Shuro, workers are in principle accepted only from countries with which a bilateral arrangement has been concluded, in order to exclude malicious sending organizations. According to OTIT's announcement, the MOC with Laos was signed dated August 31, 2026 between the four Japanese ministries and agencies (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the National Police Agency) and the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The Ministry of Justice's page on Ikusei Shuro bilateral arrangements now lists four countries: Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos. This adds Laos to the "only three countries as of August 18, 2026" reported in our September 4 article.

Status of the 16 Countries (OTIT List of Accredited Sending Organizations)

📌 What the statuses mean (OTIT)
  • Accredited: a bilateral arrangement has been concluded and the partner country has submitted a formal list of accredited sending organizations
  • Provisional: the arrangement is under negotiation, and the partner country has submitted a list of organizations expected to become accredited
CountryStatusList posted / updatedBilateral arrangement (MOC) date
UzbekistanAccreditedAug 18, 2026Jun 29, 2026
Sri LankaAccreditedSep 17, 2026Jul 23, 2026
ThailandAccreditedOct 9, 2026Jun 2, 2026
LaosAccreditedSep 2, 2026Aug 31, 2026
IndonesiaProvisionalOct 9, 2026－
CambodiaProvisionalApr 7, 2026－
KyrgyzstanProvisionalSep 7, 2026－
TajikistanProvisionalJul 24, 2026－
NepalProvisionalOct 9, 2026－
PakistanProvisionalJul 24, 2026－
BangladeshProvisionalOct 6, 2026－
Timor-LesteProvisionalJun 11, 2026－
BhutanProvisionalJul 28, 2026－
PhilippinesProvisionalJul 13, 2026－
VietnamProvisionalOct 5, 2026－
MyanmarProvisionalOct 6, 2026－

In October alone, lists were posted or updated for Vietnam (October 5), Bangladesh and Myanmar (October 6), and Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand (October 9). OTIT's news section also shows list publications in September for Laos (September 2), Kyrgyzstan (September 7), Sri Lanka (September 9) and Myanmar (September 17), and an entry on September 30 stating that three organizations were removed from Indonesia's accredited sending organization list (the removal reasons and organization names are not given in the announcement; they are checked through each country's list).

Implications for Host Companies and Supervising Organizations

  • Provisional-list organizations may be written in applications: for applications filed before the effective date, organizations on a provisional list can be entered, but permits for supporting organizations are issued only after the formal accredited list has been submitted
  • Contract risk: a permit may not be granted if the contract is with an organization that was on the provisional list but not on the accredited list, or with an organization in a country that never concluded a bilateral arrangement
  • Sending organization requirements: accredited sending organizations must meet the requirements in Article 20 of the Enforcement Regulation of the Ikusei Shuro Act
  • Because the status and update date differ by country, host companies should check on OTIT's list, before contracting and before filing, which status their intended country has and whether any organization has been removed in an update

Sources