You need 70 or more points on the relevant category table to qualify for HSP-1 status under Japan's Highly Skilled Professional visa (高度専門職). Points come from education, professional experience, annual income, age, Japanese-language ability, research achievements, and bonus categories, and they are added together, not averaged. Below is a worked example showing how a real profile clears that threshold.
How Does Japan's HSP Points System Work?
The points system, formally the Points-Based System for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals (高度人材ポイント制), runs under Japan's Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (入管法) and scores each applicant against one of three category tables. There is no single universal table; the category you apply under determines which factors carry weight and how much.
The three categories are academic research (高度学術研究活動, category 1号イ) for university and research-institution staff, professional and technical work (高度専門・技術活動, category 1号ロ) for engineering, IT, business, and finance roles, and executive and management activity (高度経営・管理活動, category 1号ハ) for those running a Japan-registered entity. A founder-manager evaluating HSP against a straight executive filing should also read the Business Manager Visa October 2025 reform guide, since 1号ハ and the standard 経営・管理 status overlap in practice and the capital requirements differ sharply. For the general "what is HSP and why pursue it" framing, see the HSP fast-track-to-PR explainer; this post assumes that context and goes straight into the arithmetic.
Each table scores the same broad factors, education, professional experience, annual income, age, Japanese-language proficiency, research achievements, and a set of bonus categories, but the point values attached to each factor shift by category. An academic researcher's table weights publication and research achievements more heavily than the professional/technical table does, for example. That is why the category selection at the start of an application is not a formality; it changes which parts of a candidate's profile actually earn points.
How Many Points Do You Need to Qualify for HSP-1?
A total of 70 points or more across the applicable category table qualifies for HSP-1 status. There is no minimum in any single factor, so a lower score in one category (say, age) can be offset by a stronger score elsewhere (education, income, or bonus points), provided the running total clears 70.
The more consequential number for long-term planning is 80. Scoring 80 or more at the original HSP-1 application opens a faster route to HSP-2 status, explained in the next section. Because bonus categories can swing a total from just-qualifying to comfortably above 80, it is worth identifying which bonus items apply before filing rather than after.
Worked Example: Software Engineer, Age 32, JPY 12 Million Income
A software engineer applying under the professional/technical category (高度専門・技術活動, 1号ロ) with a master's degree, 8 years of post-degree experience, JPY 12 million annual income, and JLPT N2 clears the 70-point HSP-1 threshold on the base factors alone, before any bonus points are counted. Here is how the arithmetic breaks down.
Education contributes 20 points for the master's degree in computer science. Professional experience of 8 years post-degree contributes 10 points under the published experience-by-bracket table; the exact bracket boundaries should be confirmed against the current table rather than assumed fixed, since bracket cutoffs are precisely the kind of detail the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) revises periodically. Age 32 falls in the 30 to 34 bracket, contributing 10 points. Japanese-language proficiency at JLPT N2 contributes 10 points; had the applicant held JLPT N1 instead, that factor alone would contribute 15 points, a 5-point difference worth knowing before deciding whether to sit N1 first.
Annual income of JPY 12 million at age 32 contributes an indicative 20 to 25 points under the income-by-age table. This is the factor most worth understanding as a mechanism rather than a fixed number: the same JPY 12 million income earns more points for a younger applicant than for an older one, because the income table is scaled against age brackets rather than being a flat income scale. A 45-year-old earning the identical JPY 12 million would score fewer income points than this 32-year-old, all else equal.
Key points:
(a) Summing education (20), experience (10), age (10), and language (10) already reaches 50 points before income is even added, and the income factor alone (20 to 25 points) pushes the running total to roughly 70 to 75. (b) Bonus categories, such as employment at a small or medium enterprise carrying a growth-sector designation, graduation from a specifically designated foreign university, or a national-strategic-zone activity profile, can add further points on top; the exact bonus list should be verified against the current published table rather than treated as fixed, since these categories are added and adjusted over time. (c) Depending on bonus eligibility, this profile lands in the roughly 70 to 80-plus point range: it clears HSP-1 on the base factors alone, and if bonus points push the total to 80 or above, it also qualifies for the faster 1-year track to HSP-2 described below.
How Does Renewal from HSP-1 to HSP-2 Work?
HSP-1 status renews to HSP-2 after 3 years on HSP-1 under the standard track, or after just 1 year if the applicant scored 80 or more points at the original application. HSP-2 is the status that actually opens the near-permanent-residence privileges commonly associated with the HSP program, including the practical path to permanent residence itself.
This is why the 80-point line matters more than the 70-point line for anyone planning multiple years ahead rather than just clearing the initial filing. A candidate who scores 72 points qualifies for HSP-1 exactly the same as one who scores 85, but the 85-point candidate reaches HSP-2, and the associated privileges, two years sooner. For a full explanation of what HSP-2 unlocks and why the fast-track framing matters strategically, see the HSP fast-track-to-PR explainer.
What Happens If You Fall Short of 70 Points?
Falling short of 70 points on one category table does not necessarily mean the applicant has no route into HSP; it means the profile should be re-scored against a different category table before concluding the visa is unavailable. A candidate weak on the professional/technical table's income scaling, for instance, might score differently under the executive/management table if their actual role and entity structure support that classification.
It is also worth checking whether bonus categories the applicant qualifies for were simply omitted from a first-pass calculation, since these are easy to miss and can be the difference between 65 and 75 points. Where the shortfall is structural rather than a scoring oversight, for example an executive-track applicant whose actual fact pattern points toward a standard Business Manager visa filing instead of HSP, the category mismatch is worth identifying early rather than after a rejected application. Full service detail for HSP filings, including category selection and points-table review, sits on the HSP visa service page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need exactly 70 points, or is there flexibility in how the points are distributed?
There is flexibility in distribution but not in the total. Any combination of factors that sums to 70 or more on the applicable category table qualifies for HSP-1; there is no separate minimum score required within any individual factor such as age or income.
Does a higher income always mean more points on the HSP table?
A higher income generally means more points, but the exact number of points a given income level earns depends on the applicant's age, because the income table is scaled by age bracket. A younger applicant earns more income-points for the same salary than an older applicant does, which is why age and income cannot be evaluated independently when estimating a total score.
Can I use this worked example as my actual filing calculation?
No. This worked example illustrates the mechanism using specific indicative figures; it is not a filing-ready calculation for any individual applicant. All point brackets and bonus categories are periodically updated by Japan's Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁), so current figures should be verified against the currently published scoring table before an actual application is filed.
Conclusion
The HSP points system rewards a combination of credentials rather than any single qualifying factor, and the 70-point and 80-point thresholds determine both initial eligibility and how quickly HSP-2 status, and the near-permanent-residence privileges that come with it, become available. Anyone evaluating their own score should treat the categories and bracket structure shown here as a guide to the mechanism, not as fixed current figures.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified advisor before acting on the content. Last updated: August 2026.