Hiring drivers?Show them the workplace before the interview

At Hello Work, the job openings-to-applicants ratio for “motor vehicle drivers” was 2.58 in FY2025 (2.79 excluding part-time), far above 1.10 for all occupations. In the Basic Survey on Wage Structure (2025), workers under 30 make up only 2.0% of bus drivers, 3.8% of commercial large-truck drivers, 4.0% of taxi drivers and 5.6% of other truck drivers, while 43.0% of taxi drivers and 36.4% of bus drivers are 60 or over.

Where do new hires come from? In MHLW’s Survey on Employment Trends (雇用動向調査, 2025), the most common hiring route into “transport and postal activities” was personal connections, at 32.2%, followed by advertising (27.7%) and Hello Work (16.0%); private placement agencies accounted for 3.0%. Compared with all industries (personal connections 21.4%, private agencies 7.7%), the sector relies more on introductions from people workers know.

A visit only involves showing someone the workplace. But if a person works under the company’s direction and instructions during a trial shift, they may count as a “worker” for that day. In that case they must be paid at least the minimum wage and covered by workers’ accident compensation insurance (whether someone is a worker is judged from the actual situation, using the criteria in the 1985 report of the Labour Standards Act Study Group). Trial shifts on Cura are designed to be paid.

Driving jobs come with further industry rules. You cannot have someone without a Class 2 license (二種免許) and driver registration drive a taxi or bus in commercial service. Trucking companies are required to give newly hired drivers special pre-duty training (at least 15 hours classroom + 20 hours practical) and an aptitude assessment, so having someone drive a commercial truck alone on a trial day is hard to envisage. Forklifts cannot be operated by anyone who has not completed skills training or special training.

Trial shifts are therefore likely to center on riding along in the passenger seat, visiting the office or depot, yard work and watching loading. Please check with your local labor bureau and district transport office whether a specific arrangement is permitted.

In addition, from Oct 1, 2026, employers must take measures to prevent sexual harassment of “job seekers and others,” including applicants and workplace visitors (amended Equal Employment Opportunity Act). It is worth deciding in advance who will host visitors and who they can contact with concerns.

Our article “What to check on a workplace visit” advises job seekers to check whether runs keep within the on-duty hours and rest periods of the Improvement Standards (改善基準告示); how pre-duty check records, driving logs and digital tachographs are managed; whether there is waiting for cargo or hand loading; the breakdown of pay (base pay, commission, overtime, fixed overtime pay); and the terms of license support (who pays, minimum period of employment, whether it must be repaid).

A visit is the place to explain concretely the things a job ad can’t fit in. Whether you hold Good Workplace Certification (働きやすい職場認証制度) or a G-Mark (safety excellence certification) is also easy to communicate to job seekers.

For license support, some local governments subsidize operators’ costs. Niigata City covers half of the large Class 2 license costs paid by bus operators (up to ¥300,000 per person), and Kanagawa Prefecture covers part of the cost of special eligibility training paid by route bus operators in the prefecture.

On foreign workers, an “automobile transportation” field was added to the Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) status in March 2024. Truck drivers need a Class 1 license, a skills test and Japanese at about N4 level; taxi and bus drivers need a Class 2 license, a skills test and Japanese at N3 or above. Host companies must meet requirements such as holding Good Workplace Certification. At the end of December 2025 there were 151 residents in the field as a whole (123 in trucking, 16 in taxis and 12 in buses), still a small number.