Photo/Illutration Pho chefs can be granted a Skilled Worker visa without a Japanese language requirement if they are deemed to have specialized expertise in ethnic cuisine. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A change in venue caused a Vietnamese chef to lose his residency status in Japan, a case legal experts say highlights systemic gaps in the country’s foreign labor system.

Although a legal dispute over the matter has been settled, the chef, who was assigned to a hamburger shop instead of a pho restaurant, was forced to leave Japan and cannot return.

According to court records, the 40-year-old man had previously come to Japan as a technical intern 20 years ago.

In 2018, wanting to work in Japan again, he consulted an acquaintance who runs a staffing agency in Vietnam.

Since returning to Japan as a technical intern was not possible, he was advised to apply for a Skilled Worker visa as a chef. This category allows foreigners with specific expertise in ethnic cuisine to work in Japan.

The man had over 10 years of experience helping at his family’s Vietnamese restaurant. He demonstrated his cooking skills by preparing the noodle soup during a meeting in Vietnam with the operator of a restaurant in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture.

After passing this informal test, he signed a job contract and paid 1 million yen ($6,800) in fees to the intermediary.

He obtained his chef visa and arrived in Japan in October 2020.

However, the pho restaurant where he was assigned to work at had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, he was reassigned to a related hamburger shop, which did not serve Vietnamese food and thus did not meet the conditions of his chef visa.

For two years, the man worked at the burger shop, unaware that he was violating his visa conditions.

One day, during a routine inspection, immigration authorities discovered the breach and revoked his residency status.

With the support of a legal group advocating for foreigners, the man filed a damages lawsuit at the Osaka District Court against both the Japanese staffing agency and the restaurant operator.

The staffing agency admitted it knew the reassignment violated visa conditions but argued that the man had insisted on working as soon as possible.

The restaurant operator denied any wrongdoing, claiming it had relied on an administrative scrivener for visa compliance.

In December last year, both companies agreed to a court-mediated settlement, paying a total of 2.5 million yen to the man.

However, the visa was not reissued, and he remains unable to return to Japan.

LACK OF OVERSIGHT

Because the Skilled Worker visa allows foreign chefs to work in Japan without language tests or institutional oversight, it creates opportunities for misuse, legal experts said.

“This kind of case is not rare,” said attorney Hisanori Shikata, who represented the Vietnamese man.

Administrative scrivener Takeru Okamoto, an expert in immigration law, warns that many employers seeking to hire foreign cooks do not fully understand visa categories.

“Even if the employer is unaware, assigning work outside visa conditions can lead to criminal charges for promoting illegal employment,” he said.

Yoshihisa Saito, an associate professor of Asian labor law at Kobe University, emphasized the need to reform the category to better protect workers.

As of June last year, 45,000 foreign nationals were working under the Skilled Worker visa category.

Unlike the newer Specified Skilled Worker visa introduced in 2019, the Skilled Worker visa lacks supervision from specialized agencies.

“Some intermediaries are acting in bad faith,” Saito said. “Employers must understand visa rules, and legal reforms are needed, including Japanese language requirements.”

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