Part-time work is one of the first things everyone asks about. It is genuinely permitted, but it comes with hard limits, and breaking them puts your residence status at risk.
First, the permit
Student status by itself does not give you the right to work. You need a separate permit — 資格外活動許可 ("permission to engage in activity outside your status").
You can get it free of charge: the easiest way is right at the airport on arrival, together with your residence card. If you do not arrange it then, you can do it later at a regional immigration bureau.
You must not start working before the permit is issued.
The limit: 28 hours a week
This is the number that matters.
- 28 hours per week during term time — across all jobs combined;
- up to 8 hours per day during long school holidays.
"Across all jobs" is the important detail: two part-time jobs of 20 hours each add up to 40 and constitute a violation.
Hourly rates
Pay is hourly. The minimum wage is set separately by each prefecture and revised every year — in Tokyo and the large cities it is noticeably higher than in the regions. Check the current figures for this year rather than someone's post from two years ago.
Typical options for a student with basic Japanese: convenience stores, cafés and restaurants, cleaning, warehouses, delivery. Better Japanese means both more choice and a higher rate — probably the strongest financial argument for learning the language faster.
What is absolutely forbidden
Work in the adult entertainment industry (風俗) is forbidden for holders of student status without exception — including support roles at such venues. It leads to cancellation of your status and deportation.
Exceeding the 28-hour limit is also a serious violation: it surfaces when you extend your status or change visa, and it can cost you the right to stay.
The reality
Part-time work covers day-to-day expenses — food, transport, phone, part of your rent. It does not pay for your studies. With a 28-hour limit the arithmetic does not work at any hourly rate.
So treat it as a supplement, not as a funding plan. And remember that your first months will go on settling in, language and finding a position — do not count on earning from week one.
Rules and amounts can change. Before making decisions, check current information from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan and from your school.
