Immigration agency seeks more mid-level posts to bolster airport screening

2026-08-16

Expand mid-level quota

The administrative pay scale for national civil servants runs from Grade 1 to Grade 10, with responsibility increasing as the number rises. The Immigration Services Agency is asking the National Personnel Authority to increase staffing quotas for Grades 5 and 6, which are close to management level, in order to make it easier to promote employees handling highly responsible duties.

Pay gaps affect retention

Grades 5 and 6 account for 8% of the agency's workforce, or 7% for staff assigned to regional posts only. Because staffing quotas are insufficient, some employees performing Grade 5-level duties remain at Grade 4. The monthly base pay gap between Grade 4, step 1, and Grade 5, step 1 is about 23,000 yen, while the gap between Grade 5, step 1, and Grade 6, step 1 exceeds 30,000 yen. If prospects for promotion are hard to see, it is difficult to secure buy-in from frontline staff.

Racing to maintain screening capacity

With the rise in visitors to Japan, the workload has increased for immigration officers who decide whether to grant entry at airports. By improving working conditions and retaining experienced staff, the agency aims to build a system that can review residency status quickly and strictly. Against the backdrop of limited prospects for promotion, some staff are moving to private companies or other ministries, and continued outflows could hamper the maintenance of the screening system.

Perceived gap with other ministries

The agency plans to raise the share of Grades 5 and 6 among staff assigned to regional posts to nearly 20%. From late August, it will explain to the National Personnel Authority the importance of immigration operations. At airports, in addition to Immigration Services Agency staff, customs officers under the Ministry of Finance and quarantine officers under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also work. Among customs officers, 30.5% are in Grades 5 and 6, while those at Grade 5 or above, including Grade 7 and higher, account for 33.4%. That is higher than the 9.6% for immigration staff.

Government backs expansion with more posts

If employees handling passenger services and screening at the same airport face differences in treatment, morale could decline. The agency believes staffing for mid-level grades is significantly short relative to job difficulty, potentially hurting frontline motivation. The government is moving quickly to expand screening capacity. In July, it approved a cabinet order revision to increase the agency's staffing quota and added 176 immigration inspectors. In the United States, a review of the system under the Trump administration disrupted airport and border control operations, and shortages of screening and security personnel tend to lead to longer waiting times and heavier workloads on the front line.

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