In the context of a rapidly changing world of work, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened pre-existing challenges to Japan’s adult learning system and raised new ones. This report examines how skill requirements have been evolving in Japan prior to and during the COVID-19 crisis. It examines changes in the skills composition of Japan’s workforce as well as policy efforts to improve the accessibility of career guidance, broaden training participation and foster the adoption of teleworking practices. The report also provides concrete recommendations to tackle inequalities in skills and training among socio-demographic groups. Finally, it provides suggestions for how to develop a labour market information system to feed real-time data into crucial policy and decision-making processes.