Japanese resume: how to fill in a rirekisho and write a shokumu keirekisho
A Japanese application usually has two documents: the rirekisho, a fixed form with personal details, education, work history and licences, and the shokumu keirekisho, a free-form A4 career summary of one or two pages describing each job in detail.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
The JIS form is gone; the MHLW model replaced it
Many guides still describe the ‘JIS rirekisho’. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) explains what happened: it used to recommend the sample form printed in the commentary to a Japanese Industrial Standard, but in July 2020 the Japanese Standards Association removed that sample. MHLW then drew up its own model, the 厚生労働省履歴書様式例, and publishes it as A4 and A3 PDF and Excel files on its fair-recruitment site.
Two things changed against the JIS sample. The gender field is now free and optional: the form says 記載は任意です, you may leave it blank. And four fields were dropped as too private: commuting time, number of dependants, spouse, and the duty to support a spouse. A Hello Work Sakai seminar handout tells job seekers not to use old-style forms and recommends the MHLW model.
Left to the visa guide
Status of residence for Specified Skilled Workers, the tests and the fields are covered in the companion guide on the SSW route.
First step: check whether the employer has its own form
MHLW’s leaflet for job seekers says its model is only a reference and that companies may use their own rirekisho or an entry sheet instead. Before you fill anything in, look at the job posting or the company’s application page.
- If the employer names a form or an entry sheet, use that one; Hello Work Sakai says the same.
- Otherwise download the MHLW model, A4 or A3, PDF or Excel.
- Decide between handwriting and computer. Hello Work Sakai says both are acceptable unless the employer specifies one.
- Get a photo taken: 4 cm tall by 3 cm wide, within the last six months, facing forward, no hat, plain background.
- Collect the official names of your schools, employers and certificates, with month and year for each.
- Write the shokumu keirekisho on A4 as a separate document.
How the rirekisho is filled in
The guidance below comes from the Hello Work Sakai seminar handout ‘履歴書・職務経歴書セミナー’, read on 13 October 2026.
Name, reading and address
Write the name larger than other entries. The reading line follows the form: katakana if the form prints フリガナ, hiragana if it prints ふりがな. Write the address in full from prefecture to building number, without abbreviation. Either a landline or a mobile number is fine; add an email address if the employer asks for one.
Education and work history: 学歴・職歴
On the first line write 学歴 in the centre, then one school per line from the second line, including faculty and department. Leave a blank line, write 職歴 in the centre, and list jobs with the official company name and your department. When you left by your own choice write 一身上の都合により退職; when the company ended it write 会社都合により退職. Finish with 以上 at the right end of the next line.
Licences and qualifications: 免許・資格
Use the official name of each licence or certificate. A qualification you expect to obtain can go in if it supports your application.
Motivation, strengths and preferences
The box for 志望の動機、特技、好きな学科、アピールポイントなど is the one the handout calls most important. Write it new for each company, in your own words, covering why this company, what you bring and how you want to contribute. If you list hobbies or special skills, make them concrete. In 本人希望記入欄, state any wish about job type or location; if you have none, the handout suggests 勤務条件は貴社の規定に従います.
Handwritten forms
Use a black ballpoint or fountain pen. If you make a mistake, start again; correction fluid is not acceptable. Glue the photo on rather than taping it, and write your full name on its back in oil-based pen.
Example: a filled rirekisho for an invented foreign applicant
Elif Yıldırım is invented: a Turkish mechanical engineer living in Osaka, applying for an overseas sales engineer post at a machinery maker. The entries follow the MHLW model’s fields in order.
| Field on the MHLW model | Entry | Why it is written this way |
|---|---|---|
| 年 月 日現在 | 2026年10月13日現在 | The date you submit; use one calendar, Western or Japanese era, throughout (our suggestion) |
| ふりがな / 氏名 | えりふ ゆるどぅるむ / Elif YILDIRIM | Name as on the residence card; reading in the script the form prints |
| 生年月日 (満 歳) | 1996年4月2日生 (満30歳) | The form asks for date of birth and age |
| ※性別 | Left blank | Optional on the MHLW model; MHLW asks employers not to decide on its content or absence |
| 現住所 | 〒530-0001 大阪府大阪市北区梅田1丁目1番1号 ○○マンション101号 | Full address from prefecture, no abbreviation |
| 学歴 | 2014年9月 中東工科大学 工学部 機械工学科 入学 / 2018年6月 同 卒業 | Institution, faculty and department; give the English name in the shokumu keirekisho if it helps |
| 職歴 | 2018年7月 株式会社サンプル機械（トルコ）入社 営業技術部 / 2023年3月 一身上の都合により退職 / 2023年4月 株式会社例示産業 入社 海外営業部 現在に至る / 以上 | Official company names and departments; reason for leaving; 以上 closes the list |
| 免許・資格 | 2025年7月 日本語能力試験 N2 合格 | Official certificate name and month passed |
| 志望の動機など | Three or four lines on why this maker, which markets you know, what you will do | Rewritten for each company |
| 本人希望記入欄 | 勤務条件は貴社の規定に従います。在留資格：技術・人文知識・国際業務（在留期限 2028年3月） | The residence line is our suggestion, not a field on the form: the employer will need it, and stating it saves a question |
The university in the example is real but the applicant is not; write your own institution’s official name, and keep spellings identical across the rirekisho, the shokumu keirekisho and any certificate you attach.
The matching shokumu keirekisho
The real document is written in Japanese; the descriptive entries are summarised in English here so the structure is easy to follow.
| Item (Hello Work Sakai list) | Sample entry for Elif |
|---|---|
| 標題・日付・氏名 (required) | 職務経歴書 / 2026年10月13日現在 / 氏名 Elif YILDIRIM |
| 職務要約 | Eight years in machinery sales engineering in Türkiye and Japan, covering the Middle East and Central Asia. |
| 期間・勤務先・事業内容 | 2023年4月から現在 株式会社例示産業（産業用ポンプ製造、従業員約400名） |
| 所属・役職・雇用形態 | 海外営業部 主任 正社員 |
| 職務内容 | Quotations and technical proposals for pump systems; distributor training in Turkish and English |
| 実績 | Opened two distributors in Uzbekistan; export orders in the region rose from 12 to 31 units a year |
| 活かせる経験・知識 | Turkish (native), English (business), Japanese (JLPT N2), 3D CAD |
| 自己PR | One paragraph on how you work and what you would do in the first year |
How the shokumu keirekisho works
Free form, A4, one or two pages
Hello Work Sakai: the rirekisho has a standard form, the shokumu keirekisho does not. Use A4 portrait, one or two pages, add page numbers when there is more than one, and write horizontally on a computer as is usual, although handwriting is allowed. Title, date, name and work history are the four required items; qualifications, usable skills, self-PR and motivation are chosen to suit you. An older Hello Work Shinagawa handout is blunter: two pages is the limit, and three or more makes the reader doubt you can summarise.
Four ways to order the history
- 編年体式: oldest first, like the rirekisho. Hello Work Sakai calls it the most common style and good for people with few job changes.
- 逆編年体式: newest first, for showing your latest role or a long career. The Shinagawa handout says foreign-affiliated companies ask what you can do now, so newest first suits them.
- キャリア式: grouped by type of work, strongest first, for people whose history falls into several kinds of job.
- フリースタイル: grouped by type of work and dated inside each group, or set out employer by employer.
Before you send it
Sakai’s checklist: is the layout easy to read, are there typos or missing characters, and does the content fit what this employer needs. Hello Work offers correction help (添削指導) on application documents.
What employers in Japan should not ask you
MHLW runs a fair-recruitment policy and lists 14 matters that can lead to hiring discrimination, among them domicile of origin and birthplace, family members’ jobs, health or income, housing conditions, religion, political party, newspapers and books you read, people you respect and union activity. It also names asking for a family register (戸籍謄本) or a residence certificate showing domicile, and a map to your home.
MHLW reports that Hello Work recorded 854 cases in fiscal 2024 where applicants said they had been asked about matters unrelated to their aptitude or ability, and that questions about family made up most of them. None of these belong on a rirekisho, and the MHLW model has no field for them.
Sources compared, read on 13 October 2026
| Point | MHLW model and leaflets | Hello Work Sakai seminar | Hello Work Shinagawa handout (older) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which rirekisho | The MHLW model; companies may use their own form | Use the MHLW model, not old forms | Not covered |
| Gender | Optional free entry | Not covered | Not covered |
| Photo | Box marked ‘if a photo is needed’ | 4 cm by 3 cm, within 6 months, glued not taped | Not covered |
| Shokumu keirekisho length | Not covered | A4, about 1 to 2 pages | 2 pages is the limit |
| Order of work history | Not covered | Oldest first is most common; newest first also listed | Japanese firms oldest first; foreign-affiliated firms newest first |
Where this guide stops
- Specified Skilled Worker applications: the status, fields and tests are in the SSW guide.
- New-graduate recruitment, where many companies use their own entry sheets instead of the model rirekisho.
- English-language applications to foreign-affiliated firms, which may ask for an English resume rather than these forms.
- We found no MHLW or Hello Work rule on Western versus Japanese era years, so the example treats it as a choice.
Next steps
- Download the MHLW model from the fair-recruitment site and fill in a draft by hand or in Excel.
- If you are in Japan, ask your nearest Hello Work for 添削指導 on both documents.
- Keep your certificates and JLPT result together, because the 免許・資格 lines should match them exactly.
- CitedCV writes in English, Turkish and German, not Japanese. It can draft the English resume a foreign-affiliated firm asks for from facts you confirm; the rirekisho itself you write in Japanese.
Questions people ask
What is a rirekisho?
A rirekisho is the standard Japanese resume form with your personal details, education and work history, licences, motivation and preferences. MHLW publishes a model form and asks employers to use it as their reference.
What is the difference between rirekisho and shokumu keirekisho?
The rirekisho is a fixed form giving basic facts in short lines. The shokumu keirekisho is a free-form A4 document that describes your jobs, results and skills in detail.
Is the JIS rirekisho still used?
No longer as the official model. The Japanese Standards Association removed its sample in July 2020, and MHLW now publishes its own model form instead.
What size is a rirekisho photo?
Four centimetres tall by three wide, taken within six months, facing forward with no hat and a plain background, according to a Hello Work Sakai seminar handout.
Do I have to fill in gender on a Japanese resume?
No. The gender field on the MHLW model is optional and free text, and MHLW asks employers not to decide on what you write or on leaving it blank.
Can I type my rirekisho on a computer?
Yes, unless the employer asks for handwriting. Hello Work Sakai says both are acceptable; handwritten forms use black pen and no correction fluid.
How long should a shokumu keirekisho be?
One to two A4 pages. Hello Work Sakai gives about one to two pages, and an older Hello Work Shinagawa handout calls two pages the limit.
What do I write in the 本人希望記入欄?
Only real conditions such as job type or location. If you have none, Hello Work Sakai suggests 勤務条件は貴社の規定に従います, meaning you follow the company’s rules.
Sources
- MHLW fair recruitment site, For job seekers (model rirekisho downloads)kouseisaiyou.mhlw.go.jp/jobseekers.html
- MHLW, 厚生労働省履歴書様式例 (A4, PDF)kouseisaiyou.mhlw.go.jp/assets/pdf/methods/03_a4.pdf
- MHLW, 新たな履歴書の様式例の作成について (leaflet for employers)www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11600000/04.pdf
- Tokyo Labour Bureau (MHLW), 新たな履歴書の様式例の作成について (leaflet for job seekers)jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-roudoukyoku/content/contents/002307499.pdf
- MHLW fair recruitment site, 公正な採用選考の基本kouseisaiyou.mhlw.go.jp/basic.html
- Hello Work Sakai, 履歴書・職務経歴書セミナー (PDF)jsite.mhlw.go.jp/osaka-hellowork/content/contents/002508814.pdf
- Hello Work Shinagawa, 職務経歴書の書き方 (PDF)jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-hellowork/library/tokyo-hellowork/oyakudati/img1/syokumu.pdf