Foreign Talent Management System 'GPASS' to Gradually Release Support for 'Specific Residence Card' and 'Second-Generation Residence Card' Starting June 2026

The foreign talent management system 'GPASS (Ji-Pasu)' is provided by Liquid Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Keiki Hasegawa; hereinafter 'Liquid'), a member of the ELEMENTS Group. GPASS prevents illegal employment caused by forged documents or identity impersonation by reading IC chips on residence cards and conducting facial authentication.

Liquid now announces that it will add support for the 'Specific Residence Card*1' and 'Second-Generation Residence Card*2'—new identification documents set to be introduced in June 2026—as verifiable ID documents with IC chip reading capability within the GPASS system. This update will support businesses in smoothly confirming residency status.

GPASS (Ji-Pasu): https://liquidinc.asia/gpass/

*1 A card integrating the residence card and My Number card

*2 A residence card without My Number information, to be issued to foreign nationals who do not wish to obtain the Specific Residence Card

Reference: Immigration Services Agency (ISA): [Implementation starting June 14, 2026] Application for Issuance of Specific Residence Card, etc.

◾️ Background and Future Developments

The number of foreign workers in Japan has reached 2,571,037*3, the highest on record*4. However, the rise in foreign labor has intensified the issue of 'illegal employment.' According to a report by the Metropolitan Police Department*5, approximately 74,000 undocumented residents were present in Japan as of January 1, 2025, many of whom are likely engaged in illegal employment.

In response, the Japanese government plans to launch the 'Specific Residence Card' in June 2026 and has decided to strengthen penalties for aiding illegal employment under the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Act), scheduled to take effect in April 2027*6.

Additionally, the National Police Agency, Ministry of Justice, Immigration Services Agency, and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have established the 'Director-General Level Liaison Meeting on Measures for Illegal Employment of Foreign Nationals,' and formulated the 'Promotion of Measures for Illegal Employment of Foreign Nationals (Revised).'

This revised plan extracts key measures from the 'Comprehensive Response Strategy for Accepting Foreign Nationals and Achieving an Orderly Coexistence Society,' adopted at the 2nd 'Cabinet-level Meeting on Accepting Foreign Nationals and Achieving an Orderly Coexistence Society' on January 23, 2026—specifically the 'Strong Promotion of the Zero Overstay Plan' and 'Strong Promotion of Illegal Employment Countermeasures'—and compiles them into a new 'Illegal Employment Countermeasure Package'*7.

With GPASS, Liquid will respond promptly to regulatory changes, beginning with early support for the 'Specific Residence Card' and 'Second-Generation Residence Card,' to enable strict residency status management. Going forward, Liquid will continue to provide features that make foreign talent management more accurate and easier for businesses.

*3 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: 'Notification Status of Foreign Employment' (as of October 31, Reiwa 7)

*4 Highest number since mandatory reporting began in Heisei 19

*5 Metropolitan Police Department: 'Proper Employment of Foreign Nationals' (Updated: April 1, 2026)

*6 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Overview of the Revised Law (Establishment of the Training and Employment System, etc.)

*7 Immigration Services Agency: 'Promotion of Measures for Illegal Employment of Foreign Nationals' (May 22, Reiwa 8)

◾️ About the Foreign Talent Management System 'GPASS' That Continues to Prevent Illegal Employment

'GPASS' is a digital ID wallet designed for foreign nationals to centrally manage all personal information via smartphone. Developed to enable foreigners to organize and present their information accurately, GPASS aims to create an inclusive society where individuals can act independently and smoothly without limiting their social participation.

Since general availability began in August 2024, GPASS has surpassed 60,000 registered users. By providing a detailed, high-precision database that stores residency card information, affiliated organizations, education and employment history, qualifications, skills, Japan residence history, and associated creditworthiness—based on the individual's clear consent—and a mechanism to freely present this data, GPASS resolves mismatches between foreign workers and employers, as well as between foreign consumers and service providers.

GPASS: https://liquidinc.asia/gpass/

【GPASS Features】

Residence Card Verification at Hiring

- Digitizes card information without manual input

- Detects forged cards and impersonation through IC verification and identity confirmation

- Employees can register directly from their smartphones

Continuous Expiry Monitoring

- Checks expiry status via the Immigration Services Agency's website

- Immediate initial check and ongoing monitoring during employment

- Rapid detection of unexpected expirations

Residency Status Expiry Management

- Alerts before residence card expiration

- Fast detection of expiry before and after the deadline

- Ability to confirm special grace periods

Residence Card Renewal Verification

- Employees complete renewal via their smartphones

- Forgery detection during renewal, same as at hiring

- Automated confirmation requests to employee and administrator

Support for Diverse Document Types

- Compatible with Certificate of Special Permanent Resident Status

- Collects additional documents such as student IDs and Designated Certificates*8

- Acquires and stores arbitrary documents (e.g., bank passbooks, health insurance cards)

Facial Authentication Matching with Residence Card Photo

- Available from first day of work, no additional setup required

- Strict linkage with verified residence card

- Liveness detection prevents spoofing with photos or videos

Multilingual Support

- Supports 14 languages

- Displays in user's native language by default, no settings required

*8: A document issued by the Immigration Services Agency, primarily to foreign nationals holding 'Specified Activities,' 'Specified Skilled Worker,' or 'Highly Skilled Professional' residency statuses.

◾️ About Liquid Inc.

Liquid aims to realize a seamless society where all approximately 8 billion people worldwide can easily and securely access any service in their natural state, by leveraging biometric authentication to make authentication 'invisible.' In line with the trend toward online identity verification in financial transactions (Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds), mobile phone contracts (Act on Prevention of Unfair Use of Mobile Phones), secondhand goods purchases (Act on Business Handling Secondhand Goods), real estate transactions, and C2C transactions, Liquid provides cross-industry, cross-organization fraud detection mechanisms. The company continues to pursue both convenience and security.

Headquarters: 5F, Nihonbashi Life Science Building 3, 3-8-3 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Keiki Hasegawa, Representative Director

Founded: December 2018

Business: Image and big data analytics specialized in biometric information and behavior (LIQUID eKYC, LIQUID Auth, etc.)

Website: https://liquidinc.asia

Service Sites:

Identity Verification Service 'LIQUID eKYC' https://liquidinc.asia/liquid-ekyc/

Device Possession Authentication Service 'LIQUID Auth Passkey' https://liquidinc.asia/liquid-auth-passkey/

Cloud-Based Facial Authentication Service 'LIQUID Auth Face' https://liquidinc.asia/liquid-auth/

Digital ID Wallet 'PASS' https://liquidinc.asia/smartcity/

Digital ID Wallet for Foreign Nationals 'GPA