KUALA LUMPUR -* Bukan kebetulan kita dipertemukan, dan hari ini jadi awal sari takdir yang kami pilih bersama. (It was no coincidence that we met. Today marks the beginning of the destiny we chose together).*
As cherry blossoms filled the air in spring, Ade decided to begin a new chapter of her life with the person who had supported her for a long time, now her life partner, in Japan where they met.
Ade has been working at the electroplating company in Nagano, Japan. She completed five years in Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and transitioned to the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) status this year.
At work, she struggled with a language barrier and cultural differences at first, but she overcame these challenges with her natural cheerfulness.
Gradually, her Japanese colleagues warmed to her.
“There are many Muslim workers now, so the company even created a prayer room for us. Looking back over the past five years, I feel that many things have changed.”
Her workplace has changed as well. What began with just eight trainees has grown to more than sixty, reflecting how deeply foreign labor has become embedded in the workplace.
While companies have adapted to a more diverse workforce, the legal framework governing workers’ lives outside the factory has changed far more slowly.
As Ade became more settled in her career and workplace, her thoughts slowly shifted to what might come next.
After getting engaged, she began thinking about children and her family back in Indonesia.
Though she feels hopeful about the life she has built in Japan, she still questions whether the country can also be a place where she can build a family with her partner.
Building a Life Without a Clear Path to Settlement
“I was wondering what I should do after graduating…”
Six years ago, Ade was a university student learning agricultural technology in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Ade, the eldest of five siblings, worked in an office while attending school to support the family's finances.
Thinking about her family and working conditions in Indonesia, she got interested in the TITP in Japan.
After waiting more than 1 year for the visa, Ade began living as a Technical Intern Trainee (TIT) in Komagane, Nagano.
This year, her sixth year in Japan, she transitioned from her TITP visa to an SSW visa.
At the same time, she began a new life, engaged to a life partner.
The partner she met on social media is also an SSW who works as a caregiver.
After their engagement, he relocated to the same area as Ade.
Does Specified Skilled Worker status help their new life?
Ade’s story highlights a contradiction at the heart of Japan’s labor policy.
While foreign workers are increasingly relied upon to sustain key industries, pathways toward long-term settlement with family members remain limited.
She started a new life with a partner, but she is facing challenges.
“Next year, we will get married in Indonesia! After that, we hope to continue working here.”
Ade talked happily, but she understood how uncertain their future was for building a life in Japan.
Her uncertainty is shaped not only by personal choice, but by the system under which she lives and works.
Ade works under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) system, introduced in 2019 to address severe labor shortages by admitting foreign workers with specific skills.
As of mid-2025, around 280,000 workers hold SSW Type 1 status, and about 3,000 hold SSW Type 2 status, which permits long-term residence and family reunification.
The system remains relatively new, and broader access to Type 2 is expected.
“We are talking about our future. How pleasant it would be to build a family with our children here. We imagine our children attending school.”
Surrounded by the mountains of Nagano, her workplace and daily life have gradually drawn her in, nurturing a quiet hope of settling down.
Yet Japan continues to insist that it is not pursuing an immigration policy.
As a result, many foreign workers find themselves welcomed as labour, but discouraged from staying as families.
“I am already 29 years old. Women face limitations in building a family. I have to think about it seriously.”
For many workers in their 20s and 30s, typically the years when families are formed, SSW Type 1 often means postponing marriage, parenthood, or living apart from loved ones.
A Company Supporting Her Career Path
As Ade began to think more seriously about her future, those questions slowly reached her workplace as well.
One day, her supervisors asked her where she saw herself in the years ahead.
Ade spoke not only about work, but about stability, about wanting a life she could continue building in Japan.
The company did not offer a clear promise. But it offered possibilities.
Because Ade holds a university degree, she was encouraged to consider roles that would place her closer to the core of the workplace, with greater responsibility and a longer-term outlook.
Among the options discussed was a path beyond the SSW framework, professional roles that could allow her to remain in Japan longer, but would also demand specialised work and a high level of Japanese proficiency.
For Ade, this support matters. Years of labour alone cannot create a sense of belonging.
It is the presence, or absence, of such conversations that begins to shape whether Japan can become more than just a place to work.
Preparing for an Uncertain Future
Now, Ade keeps making an effort to achieve her goal, which is her preparation for her future.
“Japanese is my top priority right now. I want to acquire N2 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). Also, I expect to gain a driver's license. ”
Ade’s story reflects a growing reality in Japan.
Foreign workers are no longer just temporary laborers, but people building relationships, families, and futures.
As Japan continues to rely on foreign workers while resisting the label of immigration, couples like Ade and her partner are left navigating a system caught between work without settlement and life without certainty.
Their choices reveal a broader question Japan has yet to answer about whether a society can depend on foreign workers without acknowledging their lives beyond work.
“We are thinking only of a solution, not a negative thing.”
Her journey is far from over.
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