Job Hunting for People with Disabilities

The rate for private companies was raised in stages: to 2.5% in April 2024 and to 2.7% in July 2026. 2.3% was the rate in fiscal 2023, and 2.5% applied from April 2024 to June 2026. 3.0% is the rate for national and local governments, not for private companies.

Along with the rise of the statutory rate to 2.7%, the obligation expanded from companies with 40.0 or more employees to those with 37.5 or more. The 40.0 threshold applied from April 2024 to June 2026. There is no rule limiting it to companies with 100 or more employees. Not every company must employ at least one person (although the ban on discrimination and the duty of reasonable accommodation apply to all employers).

Counting toward the actual employment rate is in principle based on a physical disability certificate, a rehabilitation certificate (療育手帳) or a mental disability certificate. However, support from Hello Work and the Local Vocational Centers for Persons with Disabilities is not limited to certificate holders, and reasonable accommodation at work does not depend on having one. So the idea that you cannot consult without a certificate is wrong. People with a mental disability who have no certificate are not counted in the rate, so a doctor's note does not guarantee being counted.

For general job openings you may apply either disclosing your disability or not, and the choice is yours. If you work without disclosing it, the company does not know what you find difficult, so it can be harder to ask for accommodation. There is no rule that you must disclose for general openings. Openings for persons with disabilities (障害者求人) are meant for people with disabilities, so you apply with your disability disclosed. Nor is there any guarantee that the company will always provide accommodation; accommodation is decided through requests and discussion.

At the recruitment and hiring stage, the person with a disability tells the company about the difficulties they face, and the accommodation is then decided through discussion. It is after hiring that the company checks whether there are difficulties at work. Disability information is personal information that requires special care, so companies do not routinely check every applicant for a disability. Hello Work does not order specific accommodation either. You can ask for accommodation, such as written communication, even at the interview stage.

The amended Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities took effect on April 1, 2024, making reasonable accommodation by businesses mandatory. In employment, however, reasonable accommodation has been a duty of all employers since April 2016 under the Act on Employment Promotion of Persons with Disabilities, so "for the first time" is wrong. Under the anti-discrimination act, persons with disabilities are not limited to certificate holders. The rate became 2.7% in July 2026; in April 2024 it was raised to 2.5%.

If an accommodation would be an undue burden, the duty to provide that accommodation does not apply. However, the company must say so and explain why, respect the person's wishes, and provide accommodation within a range that is not an undue burden. It may not simply refuse everything without a reason. Nor must it do exactly what was asked regardless of cost. Whether something is an undue burden is judged case by case from the impact on the business, the cost, the company's size and finances and so on; the person does not decide it alone.

The Employment and Life Support Centers for Persons with Disabilities work with employment, health, welfare and education organizations to support both work and daily life together in the local community (340 centers nationwide as of April 2026). The Local Vocational Centers are run by JEED in every prefecture and focus on specialized vocational rehabilitation such as vocational assessment and guidance. Type B continuous employment support offers work and productive activity to people for whom working under an employment contract is difficult. A training school's admissions desk handles training, not combined support that covers daily life.

Employment transition support is a disability welfare service for people expected to be able to work at ordinary companies. It offers the training needed for work, help finding a suitable workplace, and support to settle in after being hired. The standard period of use is two years, extendable by up to one year only when the need is recognized. A place where you work under an employment contract is Type A continuous employment support, not transition support. The Hello Work desk for people with disabilities is the specialized assistance section (専門援助部門). The person who supports you at the workplace after hiring is a job coach (職場適応援助者).

What the company wants to know is how you can do the work. Explaining concretely what you can do and are good at, what you find difficult and the accommodation you need, and the strategies you already use helps the company plan the job and the accommodation. Spending time on your diagnosis and history does not show how you work, and how much to share is your decision. Saying "anything is fine" and avoiding the topic makes problems more likely after you join (some people choose to work closed, but even then it helps to plan for changes in your condition). The Employment Passport is a tool for explaining yourself, not a required hiring document.