Study WorkPublished 2026-05-09Updated 2026-11-095 min read

Student Part-Time Work Rules in Japan

Permission for activities outside student status, the rolling 28-hour limit, prohibited nightlife and pachinko work, income thresholds, and renewal risks.

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A student residence status does not include work by default. Before taking an arubaito, a student needs 資格外活動許可, then still has to stay inside three limits: 28 hours in any rolling 7-day period, no 風俗営業 or pachinko-related work, and annual income planning around the tax lines (resident tax from about ¥1,100,000, income tax from ¥1,780,000 in 2026).

Permission before the first shift

The fastest route is the airport counter at first entry. Submit the 資格外活動許可申請書 during immigration inspection, and the permission is stamped on the back of the residence card.

After entry, apply at the regional Immigration Services Bureau with the application form, residence card, passport, and a school certificate. The fee is ¥0, and ordinary review takes about 2 weeks to 1 month. Online application is also available through the Immigration Services Agency system.

There are two types. 包括的許可 is the standard student permission for work up to 28 hours per week outside prohibited industries. 個別許可 is tied to a specific employer or activity, and is mainly used for limited academic or research-related cases.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Permission for activities outside student status.

Counting the rolling 28 hours

The weekly limit means any continuous 7 days, not Monday through Sunday. If a student works 8 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday, then 3 hours from Monday to Thursday, the Saturday-to-Friday total is already 28 hours. One more hour on Friday breaks the limit.

Shift records need to be checked every day across all employers. A convenience store roster may count a calendar week, but Immigration reviews the total activity across any 7-day span. Some employers such as major konbini chains warn foreign students when the schedule approaches 28 hours, but the legal responsibility still remains with the student.

During official long school holidays, the limit expands to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. The holiday period is the one published in the school calendar, not a personal free week before classes restart.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Activities outside status.

Jobs that are not allowed

The prohibited area is 風俗営業等 under the entertainment business law. It includes cabarets, host clubs, hostess clubs, snack bars with customer entertainment, pachinko, pachislot, mahjong parlors, sex-related businesses, and some private-room entertainment services.

Pachinko is blocked even for floor staff, cleaning, or ball-carrying work because the business itself falls inside the restricted category. A hotel front desk, restaurant kitchen, convenience store, cram-school teaching, translation, IT support, delivery, hotel cleaning, and moving work are common permitted choices when the 28-hour rule is respected.

Business content matters more than the job title. If an izakaya changes into late-night customer entertainment after 24:00, the work can become unsafe for student status even if the printed title still says hall staff.

Source: National Police Agency: Entertainment Business Act, Immigration Services Agency: Activities outside status.

Income thresholds and tax timing

Student income is counted from January 1 to December 31. A schedule of ¥80,000 per month for 12 months becomes ¥960,000, which stays under the resident-tax line of about ¥1,100,000 that applies from the 2026 resident-tax year.

Resident tax is charged a year late on the previous year’s income. For the 2026 resident-tax year (2025 income), a single person with only salary income and no dependents is exempt up to ¥1,100,000 in many municipalities such as Edogawa, up from the old ¥1,000,000, because the minimum salary-income deduction rose to ¥650,000; the exact line varies by municipality and household. The income-tax line rose from the old ¥1,030,000 to ¥1,780,000 from 2026.

The ¥1,300,000 figure is a different kind of line. It decides whether a student can stay a dependent on a parent’s employer health insurance in Japan. Most international students join National Health Insurance themselves, which has no dependent status, so the line does not apply to them, and National Pension depends on age and residence rather than income. The 28-hour cap does not keep earnings under ¥1,300,000 either: 28 hours at ¥1,100 for 52 weeks is about ¥1,600,000, so estimate the year from your real wage and schedule.

Students with one employer often finish through year-end adjustment. Multiple jobs, mid-year job changes, or over-withheld tax can require a tax return between February 16 and March 15, and a refund is common when withholding was too high.

Source: National Tax Agency: Basic deduction and salary-income deduction, National Tax Agency: Salary income deduction, MHLW: Responding to the annual income wall, Edogawa City: Changes applying from the 2026 resident tax.

What violations cost

For the student, excess hours or prohibited work can lead to refusal at renewal, cancellation of status, departure orders, or deportation records. Immigration often checks salary statements, tax certificates, and employer information at renewal, so a high annual income can expose an impossible 28-hour schedule.

For the employer, facilitating illegal work carries up to 3 years of imprisonment, a ¥3,000,000 fine, or both until March 31, 2027. From April 1, 2027, under the 2024 Immigration Control Act amendment, the maximum rises to 5 years, ¥5,000,000, or both.

The practical rule is to keep monthly shifts, payslips, and school holiday notices together. If renewal review asks why income was high in August or December, those records show whether the hours came from an official long vacation or from an ordinary school week.

Source: Immigration Services Agency: Cancellation of status, ISA: The 2024 Immigration Control Act amendments.

Common mistakes

Training or trial shifts before permission is granted still count as work outside status. Before the first shift, confirm the residence-card back side or online application result.

Counting 28 hours separately by employer creates violations. A convenience store at 18 hours and cram school at 12 hours is 30 total hours even if each workplace schedule looks legal.

Avoid pachinko and customer-entertainment shops even for cleaning or kitchen roles. Immigration looks at the business category, not only the printed job title.

Useful terms

資格外活動許可: permission for activity outside status
包括的許可: blanket permission up to the standard student limit
個別許可: permission for a specific activity or employer
風俗営業: regulated entertainment business
確定申告: annual tax return