Avoiding the Broker Trap: A Vietnamese Workers' Rights Guide for Japan (2026)

How Vietnamese workers can avoid the broker debt trap in Japan: the 2027 fee cap, deductions your employer can't make, your rights whatever the broker contract says, and who to call in Vietnamese.

Updated October 2026: the rules that replace Technical Intern Training on 1 April 2027 (育成就労, ikusei shuro) are now published: broker fees are capped at 2 months of your Japanese wage, and workers come only from countries that signed a cooperation memorandum, which doesn't include Vietnam yet. We also corrected several rights and contacts, and removed fee and percentage figures we couldn't verify in official sources.

The hidden cost most Vietnamese workers pay

Going to Japan shouldn't leave you with a broker debt you can't repay for years. But many Vietnamese workers arrive owing a lot of money to an agency, and then feel they can't complain, can't change jobs and can't go home. You don't have to accept that.

This guide explains what Japanese law says, who to call, and how to find a path to Japan that doesn't bankrupt you before you arrive.

What you've been told that's probably wrong

Here are the lines brokers and bad employers use most, checked against Japanese law:

"There's no limit to what the agency can charge." CHANGING. From April 2027, under Employment for Skill Development (育成就労), what you pay a sending agency is capped at 2 months of your Japanese monthly wage. Anything above that is paid by your employer or the supervising organisation.
"The company can take whatever it wants from your pay for the dormitory." FALSE. Wages must be paid in full. Deductions are only allowed when a law or a written agreement with the workers' representative allows them.
"You can't change jobs in Japan." PARTIALLY FALSE. On TITP, you can transfer for unavoidable reasons like violence or harassment. On SSW, you can change employer by applying for a change of status. On 育成就労, you can also change by your own choice after 1 to 2 years, under conditions.
"You'll pay a penalty if you leave early." FALSE in Japan. An employer can't sign a contract that sets a penalty or fixed damages for breaking it. Under TITP, the organisations involved can't sign one with you or your family either.
"You can't stop working until your contract ends." FALSE. Forcing someone to work through violence, threats or confinement is banned. Just know that if you stay in Japan without doing the activity of your status for 3+ months without good reason, that status can be cancelled.

Vietnamese sending agencies — what's actually legal

Vietnam regulates its agencies under its own law on guest workers (Law 69/2020/QH14): check that your agency is licensed and ask the Vietnamese authorities about fee limits before you pay anything. On the Japanese side:

Today, under TITP: the organisations supervising your training can't sign penalty contracts with you or your relatives, and can't make you save money they manage.
Your employer and the supervising organisation can't keep your passport or residence card under the TITP law.
From April 2027, under 育成就労: fees are capped at 2 months of your monthly wage, and only sending agencies certified by a partner government are used. OTIT publishes the list.
Vietnam isn't a partner yet: on 14 October 2026, ISA lists cooperation memoranda with Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Laos only.

Hidden deduction tricks to watch for in Japan

Trick	Legal?	What to do
Huge "dormitory fee"	Only with a written agreement, and it should match what you actually get	Ask for the breakdown (rent, utilities). Compare with your neighbours.
"Training fee" deduction	Only if a law or written agreement allows it	Ask for the legal basis in writing. Report to OTIT or the labour standards office
"Equipment fee" for uniform/tools	Same rule: no written agreement, no deduction	Ask what agreement it's based on
"Broker repayment" deduction	No: your debt to an agency isn't a legal deduction from your pay	Call OTIT or the MHLW hotline
Monthly "visa fee"	No: immigration fees are paid per application, not every month	Ask for an explanation, report
Very high "social insurance"	Only the legal contributions can be withheld	Compare with our take-home calculator

How to verify your payslip

When you're paid, your employer must give you a pay statement (給与支払明細書) showing the amounts. Check that it shows:

Gross salary (額面)
Overtime, night and holiday premiums if you worked them
Income tax (所得税, shotokuzei) and, usually from your second year, residence tax (住民税, juminzei)
Social insurance (社会保険, shakai hoken) and employment insurance
Any other deduction, with its name
Net pay (手取り)

Put your gross figure in our calculator to check the math. If the result is far from what you receive, ask your employer for an explanation in writing and get advice from the contacts below.

Your rights in Japan, regardless of broker contract

These come from Japanese law, so no agency contract can take them away:

Minimum wage: applies to every worker in Japan, including TITP and SSW. Each prefecture sets its own hourly rate.
Overtime pay: at least 25% extra beyond 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, at least 25% extra for night work (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.), at least 35% extra on legal holidays.
Paid leave: 10 days after 6 months of work if you came in on at least 80% of working days, increasing with tenure.
Full pay: only legal or agreed deductions.
No forced labour, no penalties for leaving.
Your passport is yours: under TITP, keeping a trainee's passport or residence card, or unreasonably restricting your going out, is banned.
Reporting is protected: a TITP trainee can report violations to ISA and MHLW, and can't be treated badly for it.

Who to call

Issue	Who to call
Wage theft, unpaid overtime, illegal deductions	MHLW Working Conditions Hotline, free, Vietnamese: 0120-531-406 (Tue, Wed, Fri to Sun; weekdays 5–10 p.m., weekends and holidays 9 a.m.–9 p.m.), or your local labour standards inspection office (労働基準監督署, rodo kijun kantokusho)
Problems on TITP (training, transfer, abuse)	OTIT native-language consultation, Vietnamese included: numbers and days on otit.go.jp
General work questions in Vietnamese	MHLW Foreign Workers' Consultation Dial: 0570-001-706 (paid call)
Locked in, threatened, in danger	Police: 110
Passport problems, help from your country	The Embassy of Vietnam in Tokyo

The path going forward (without brokers)

If you're considering Japan but haven't signed anything yet:

Look at SSW directly. With an SSW Type 1 skills test and a Japanese test at A2 level (JFT-Basic or JLPT N4, for example), you can be hired as an SSW worker without going through TITP.
Get a job offer from a Japanese employer. The Certificate of Eligibility itself costs nothing to apply for.
Read every contract before you pay. Ask what each fee is for, and get it in Vietnamese.
Watch the 育成就労 partner list. When Vietnam signs, OTIT will publish the certified Vietnamese sending agencies, and the 2-month fee cap will apply to them.

The new system won't make brokers disappear overnight, but from April 2027 it gives workers a fee cap, a list of certified agencies and a real right to change employers.

One last thing

If you're Vietnamese, in Japan, and scared of a debt to a broker: in Japan, nobody can take that debt out of your pay without a legal basis, keep your TITP passport, or force you to keep working. Your fear is real, but you have rights here, and the people above can explain them in Vietnamese.

Call OTIT or the MHLW hotline. Both have Vietnamese-speaking staff.