Exam Overview

Purpose of the exam

The METI is increasing its acceptance of "Type 2 Specified Skilled Worker " in the Industrial product manufacturing . Type 2 Specified Skilled Worker are required to possess advanced skills acquired through many years of practical experience, which means, for example, being able to perform highly specialized and technical tasks based on their own judgment, or being able to perform tasks with skilled abilities while supervising and overseeing operations.
To confirm the relevant skill level, we will conduct the "SSW(ii) Exam for Industrial Product Manufacturing."

Requirements for acquiring the manufacturing industry Specified Skilled Worker 2 human resources Status of Residenceare important

• The ideal candidate for position #2 is someone with advanced skills gained through practical experience, who can lead, guide, and supervise on-site workers .
• To obtain a Status of Residence, you must meet the requirements of one of two routes. In either route, you will need at least three years of practical experience in the manufacturing sector of a company with a base in Japan.

Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 Evaluation Examination Route

All three of the following conditions must be met . Obtained Business Career Qualification Level 3 (Either production management planning category or production management operations category) Passing the SSW(ii) Exam for Industrial Product Manufacturing (One of the following categories: Machining and metal processing, Electric and electronic equipment assembly, or Metal surface treatment) Applicants must have at least three years of practical experience in the manufacturing sector of a company based in Japan. This is required when applying for the Type 2 evaluation test.

Skills Test Route

The following two conditions must both be met . Obtained Level 1 Skills Proficiency Test certification (Any of the following: Casting, Forging, Die casting, Machining, Metal press, Iron work, Factory sheet metal work work, Electroplating, Aluminum anodizing, Finishing, Machine inspection, Machine maintenance, Electronic equipment assembling, Electric equipment assembling, Print wiring board manufacturing, Plastic molding, Painting, Industrial packaging, Metal heat treatment) Applicants must have at least three years of practical experience in the manufacturing sector of a company based in Japan. This is required when filing a notification with the Immigration Services Agency.

Exam Overview

Examination Category	3 categories Machining and metal processing division, Electric and electronic equipment assembly division, Metal surface treatment division The correspondence between the examination categories and the job duties can be found here.
Test location	Test centers provided by Prometric, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Prometric") (Japan: throughout the country)
Exam time	Practical exam only: 80 minutes For the written exam, please take the Business Career Certification Level 3 exam separately.
Test implementation method	CBT (Computer-Based Testing) method (practical skills) Practical Exam: Questions that require you to read about actual work processes and materials and choose the correct answer. Related materials for the No. 2 exam can be found here.
Criteria for passing or failing	Correct answer rate of 60% or higher
Language	Japanese
Test level	From the perspective of confirming that foreign nationals currently Status of Residence in specialized and technical fields possess a level of expertise and skills equivalent to or higher than that of the National Skills Test Level 1, the standard will be set at the same level as the National Skills Test Level 1.
Eligibility Requirements	In principle, applicants must be foreign nationals aged 17 or older (18 or older if Indonesian national) on the day of the examination, and must intend to work in Japan if they pass the examination. Applicants must have at least three years of practical experience in the manufacturing sector of a company with a base in Japan by the day before the exam. You will need to submit a " Certificate of Work Experience " proving the above-mentioned work experience and obtain an eligibility confirmation number.
application	Prometric SSW(ii) Exam for Industrial Product Manufacturing Dedicated Page
Identification documents on the day of the exam	Prometric requires identification documents. For any reason whatsoever, you may not take the exam using a "copy" or any other certificate not listed above.
Examination fee	All examination categories Examination fee: 15,000 yen
Method of notifying pass/fail results	Log in to the Prometric reservation site and confirm within 5 business days from the day after the exam date.

Schedule and test locations

	Application period for obtaining an eligibility confirmation number (submission period for work experience certificate)	Exam application period	Exam period	Test location
1st	May 18, 2026 (Monday) 9:00~ Applications accepted until 18:00 on Friday, May 29th. All times are Japan Standard Time. Registration closed	Monday, June 8, 2026 10:00 to Wednesday, July 15, 2026 All times are Japan Standard Time. Registration closed	July 29, 2026 (Wednesday) - August 1, 2026 (Saturday) Ended	Domestic only
2nd time	August 31, 2026 (Monday) 9:00~ Applications accepted until 18:00 on Friday, September 11th. All times are Japan Standard Time.	October 6, 2026 (Tuesday) 10:00 - November 19, 2026 (Thursday) All times are Japan Standard Time.	Wednesday, November 25, 2026 - Saturday, November 28, 2026
3rd	Under adjustment	Around January 2027	Around February 2027

Application for Exam

Applications are currently closed.
For information about the exam, please see the dedicated page for the Prometric SSW(ii) Exam for Industrial Product Manufacturing .

• You can view the multilingual page by switching to the "LANGUAGE" button in the header.

Please note that you will need your "Eligibility Confirmation Number" to apply for the exam.
The application period differs from the exam application period, so please check the information below and apply for certification in advance.

Obtaining an eligibility confirmation number

The work experience certificate creation system will be available from 2:00 PM on Monday, August 24, 2026.

Those taking the Specified Skilled Worker No. 2 Evaluation Examination for the first time should prepare their "Certificate of Work Experience" as soon as possible and apply for an "Examination Eligibility Confirmation Number." Even those who took the exam in 2023 need to obtain an Examination Eligibility Confirmation Number, so please be sure to apply.

• Those who have already obtained an eligibility confirmation number for the 2024 academic year or later can reuse the same number (there is no need to apply for a new number for each exam).

Application period (Japan time)

• First round: Applications accepted from May 18th (Mon) 9:00 to May 29th (Fri) 18:00, 2026. *Registration closed.
• Second round: Applications accepted from August 31st (Mon) 9:00 to September 11th (Fri) 18:00, 2026.
• 3rd: Under adjustment

Correspondence between examination categories and job duties

Machining and metal processing classification	Cast iron casting manufacturing, non-ferrous metal Casting, hammer Forging, press die Forging and Casting, hot chamber Die casting, cold chamber Die casting, conventional lathes, milling machines, numerically controlled lathes, machining centers, metal pressing, structural Iron work, machine sheet metal work, mechanical system maintenance, jig and tool Finishing, mold Finishing, machine assembly Finishing, Machine inspection, rotating electrical machine assembly, transformer assembly, distribution board and control panel assembly, switching control device assembly, rotating electrical machine winding manufacturing, compression molding, injection molding, inflation molding, blow molding Shaping, architectural Painting, metal Painting, steel bridge Painting, spray Painting, manual Welding, semi-automatic Welding, Industrial packaging, overall heat treatment, surface heat treatment (carburizing, carbonitriding, nitriding), partial heat treatment (high-frequency heat treatment, flame heat treatment), manual lamination molding, Electronic equipment assembling, bead-type polystyrene foam molding, Plastic molding molding material manufacturing, aluminum rolling and extrusion product manufacturing (drawing), aluminum rolling and extrusion product manufacturing (Finishing), film processing (dry lamination, extrusion lamination, slitting, bag making, flat yarn)
Electric and electronic equipment assembly Section	Conventional lathes, milling machines, numerically controlled lathes, machining centers, jig and fixture Finishing, mold Finishing, machine assembly Finishing, Machine inspection, mechanical system maintenance, Electronic equipment assembling, rotating electrical machine assembly, transformer assembly, distribution board and control panel assembly, switchgear assembly, rotating electrical machine winding fabrication, printed circuit board design, Print wiring board manufacturing, compression molding, injection molding, inflation molding, blow molding, Industrial packaging, manual lamination, bead-type polystyrene foam molding, Plastic molding material manufacturing, film processing (dry lamination, extrusion lamination, slitting, bag making, flat yarn)
Metal surface treatment classification	Electroplating, hot-dip Electroplating, anodizing, buffing