Only Four Hello Work Offices Have Ukrainian Interpreters: Looking for a Job in Japan

The national counter for job hunting in Japan is Hello Work (Public Employment Security Office, 公共職業安定所). Both job consultation and job placement are free. According to guidance the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) put together in August 2026, Ukrainian interpreters are available at four Hello Work offices nationwide, each only on set days of the week. Below, this article walks through, in order, how to check whether your status of residence allows you to work, which counters have interpreters, what documents to check before starting a job, and phone consultation lines for when you run into trouble — based on official materials from MHLW and the Immigration Services Agency (ISA). The content was confirmed in September 2026.

Whether you can work, and what kind of job is suitable, depends on your status of residence — this article does not make that determination for you. If you are unsure, check with one of the counters listed in this article.

First, check whether your status of residence allows you to work

The Guidebook on Living and Working (Japanese edition, 8th edition, February 2026), supervised by the ISA, divides statuses of residence into three groups from the standpoint of employment:

• Statuses of residence with no restriction on work activity: Permanent Resident, Spouse or Child of Japanese National, Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident, Long-Term Resident (定住者)
• Statuses of residence that allow work within the scope defined for that status: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services, Specified Skilled Worker, Nursing Care, and others. Certain categories of Designated Activities, such as Working Holiday, also fall here
• Statuses of residence that do not, in principle, permit work: Cultural Activities, Temporary Visitor, Student, Trainee, Dependent

For people who evacuated from Ukraine and changed to “Designated Activities (1 year)” (特定活動), the ISA states, “You can work in Japan, but there are jobs you must not do.” It lists restaurants and bars that entertain customers, amusement establishments such as mahjong parlors and pachinko halls, nightclubs open past midnight serving alcohol, and establishments providing sexual services, and states that even cleaning, dishwashing, transport, or reception work at such establishments is not permitted. The procedure for the status of residence itself is covered in the article the status-of-residence procedure for evacuees.

For people with a status of residence that does not, in principle, permit work, such as Student or Dependent, who want to earn income through a part-time job or similar, they need to obtain “permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted” from a regional immigration services bureau. There is no fee. Per the ISA’s explanation, a “comprehensive permission” that does not specify an employer generally requires working no more than 28 hours a week, and that the workplace not be one operating an entertainment business or similar.

What Hello Work can do for you

According to the Guidebook, Hello Work’s job-consultation counters offer all of the following free of charge:

• Job consultation
• Searching job listings — listings can be viewed on Hello Work’s computers, or from your own smartphone
• Introduction to companies you want to work for — staff at the counter explain the key points of a listing and hand you a letter of introduction for the interview
• Help with job hunting — feedback on your résumé and work history, interview preparation, mock interviews, and seminars

On its page for people who evacuated from Ukraine, the ISA states, “At Hello Work, government staff will help you look for a job. There is no charge.” It also asks people to bring along a Japanese-speaking family member or friend if possible.

Hello Work offices with Ukrainian interpreters

MHLW’s leaflet “Introducing Hello Work Offices with Interpreters” (August 2026 edition) lists, for each office nationwide, which languages have interpreters and on what days and times. Only four offices had a Ukrainian-language entry: the Employment Service Centers for Foreigners (外国人雇用サービスセンター) in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka.

There is one thing to note. MHLW describes the Employment Service Centers for Foreigners as bodies that support job placement for international students wishing to work in Japan and for foreign workers in specialized or technical fields. The Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners’ page directs people with a status of residence carrying no particular work restriction, such as Long-Term Resident or Permanent Resident, and international students looking for part-time work, to the “Shinjuku Employment Support and Guidance Center for Foreigners” (03-3204-8609) in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward. The same leaflet lists the Shinjuku center’s interpreters as English and Chinese only. If you want to consult in Ukrainian, call ahead to confirm whether you can be helped given your status of residence, and whether an interpreter can be arranged.

The same leaflet also notes that some Hello Work offices, including the Employment Service Centers for Foreigners, cannot handle employment insurance procedures.

Consulting by phone

MHLW’s leaflet “You Can Call Hello Work in a Foreign Language” (created 2021), which the Guidebook refers people to, lists numbers in 10 languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Nepali, and Indonesian. There are no numbers for Ukrainian or Russian. Whether the numbers in this leaflet are still the same could not be confirmed against current materials, such as the August 2026 leaflet, so they are not reproduced here. Check with your local Hello Work before using them.

When using a job placement agency

Besides Hello Work, some people use a private job placement agency. The Guidebook notes: you should never have to pay to be introduced to a job or to work; job placement requires a government license, so check and note down the license number; and job conditions such as duties and pay are required to be shown to you in writing or similar. You can check whether an agency is licensed or has filed the required notification on MHLW’s “Comprehensive Site for Human Resource Services.”

What to check in writing before you start working

The Labor Standards Act requires a company to clearly show working conditions when concluding an employment contract. According to the Guidebook, the following especially important items are, in principle, given to you in writing:

• The term of the contract (from when to when)
• If the contract has a fixed term, whether it can be renewed, and any cap on renewals or how renewal is decided
• Your place of work and duties, and the scope within which these can be changed
• Start and end times, whether overtime is expected, breaks, days off/leave, and any shift rotation
• How wages are determined, calculated and paid, and when they are paid
• The rules for resignation and dismissal

The Guidebook also explains the following. The minimum wage applies to every worker regardless of how they work; a contract that falls below it is invalid, and you can claim the difference afterward. The Labor Standards Act prohibits setting a penalty for breach of contract in advance, advancing money on the condition of working and then unilaterally deducting it from wages, and forcing mandatory savings. Contracts labeled “outsourcing” or “subcontracting” generally do not carry worker protections, but if your actual way of working means you are judged to be a worker, you receive those protections anyway. If you are unsure, consult a Labor Standards Inspection Office.

Enrollment in social insurance is covered in the article enrolling in Japan’s health insurance and pension.

If you run into trouble after starting work

MHLW operates two phone consultation lines in foreign languages for questions about working conditions.

• Consultation Line for Foreign Workers: weekdays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (excluding noon to 1:00 p.m.). English: 0570-001-701 (Mon–Fri). A call charge applies
• Working Conditions Hotline: weekdays 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Free of charge. English: 0120-531-401

As of September 2026, neither line’s list of languages includes Ukrainian or Russian. Call with someone who can speak English or Japanese, or check what languages are available at your prefectural labour bureau’s “Consultation Corner for Foreign Workers.” A map of consultation counters overall is in the article where to ask first when you start living in Japan.

One last thing. The job listing and the written working conditions you actually receive when hired are not always the same. When you receive the document, do not rush to sign it while there are still parts you cannot read — ask a Hello Work counter to go through it with you.