diff --git a/.github/workflows/check.yml b/.github/workflows/check.yml
index 535d915..1141a67 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ name: Check
 on: [ pull_request, push ]
 jobs:
   check:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # https://github.com/ruby/ruby-builder/releases/tag/toolcache
+    # No support for jruby-9.1.17.0 after ubuntu-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
     # push: always run.
     # pull_request: run only when the PR is submitted from a forked repository, not within this repository.
     if: github.event_name == 'push' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name != github.repository
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a5109f1..419616b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ OAuth flow for installed applications.
 |  description                         | string      | optional   | nil                      | description of table |
 |  merge_keys                          | array       | optional   |                          | key column names for merging records in merge mode (string array, required in merge mode if table doesn't have primary key) |
 |  merge_rule                          | array       | optional   |                          | list of column assignments for updating existing records used in merge mode, for example foo = T.foo + S.foo (T means target table and S means source table). (string array, default: always overwrites with new values) |
+|  retain_column_descriptions          | boolean     | optional   | false                    | In case of replace mode, the column's descriptions are taken over. |
+|  retain_column_policy_tags           | boolean     | optional   | false                    | In case of replace mode, the table policy tags are taken over. |
 
 Client or request options
 
diff --git a/example/config_replace_retain_column_descriptions.yml b/example/config_replace_retain_column_descriptions.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caca4bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/config_replace_retain_column_descriptions.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+in:
+  type: file
+  path_prefix: example/example.csv
+  parser:
+    type: csv
+    charset: UTF-8
+    newline: CRLF
+    null_string: 'NULL'
+    skip_header_lines: 1
+    comment_line_marker: '#'
+    columns:
+      - {name: date,        type: string}
+      - {name: timestamp,   type: timestamp, format: "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%N", timezone: "+09:00"}
+      - {name: "null",      type: string}
+      - {name: long,        type: long}
+      - {name: string,      type: string}
+      - {name: double,      type: double}
+      - {name: boolean,     type: boolean}
+out:
+  type: bigquery
+  mode: replace
+  auth_method: service_account
+  json_keyfile: example/your-project-000.json
+  dataset: your_dataset_name
+  table: your_table_name
+  source_format: NEWLINE_DELIMITED_JSON
+  compression: NONE
+  auto_create_dataset: true
+  auto_create_table: true
+  schema_file: example/schema.json
+  retain_column_descriptions: true
diff --git a/example/config_replace_retain_column_policy_tags.yml b/example/config_replace_retain_column_policy_tags.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db81664
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/config_replace_retain_column_policy_tags.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+in:
+  type: file
+  path_prefix: example/example.csv
+  parser:
+    type: csv
+    charset: UTF-8
+    newline: CRLF
+    null_string: 'NULL'
+    skip_header_lines: 1
+    comment_line_marker: '#'
+    columns:
+      - {name: date,        type: string}
+      - {name: timestamp,   type: timestamp, format: "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%N", timezone: "+09:00"}
+      - {name: "null",      type: string}
+      - {name: long,        type: long}
+      - {name: string,      type: string}
+      - {name: double,      type: double}
+      - {name: boolean,     type: boolean}
+out:
+  type: bigquery
+  mode: replace
+  auth_method: service_account
+  json_keyfile: example/your-project-000.json
+  dataset: your_dataset_name
+  table: your_table_name
+  source_format: NEWLINE_DELIMITED_JSON
+  compression: NONE
+  auto_create_dataset: true
+  auto_create_table: true
+  schema_file: example/schema.json
+  retain_column_policy_tags: true
diff --git a/lib/embulk/output/bigquery.rb b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery.rb
index 8ada6ab..904b5a8 100644
--- a/lib/embulk/output/bigquery.rb
+++ b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery.rb
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ def self.configure(config, schema, task_count)
           'payload_column_index'           => config.param('payload_column_index',           :integer, :default => nil),
 
           'description'                    => config.param('description',                    :string,  :default => nil),
+          'retain_column_descriptions'     => config.param('retain_column_descriptions',     :bool,    :default => false),
+          'retain_column_policy_tags'      => config.param('retain_column_policy_tags',      :bool,    :default => false),
 
           'open_timeout_sec'               => config.param('open_timeout_sec',               :integer, :default => nil),
           'timeout_sec'                    => config.param('timeout_sec',                    :integer, :default => nil), # google-api-ruby-client < v0.11.0
diff --git a/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_client.rb b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_client.rb
index b42f9b9..d43111b 100644
--- a/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_client.rb
+++ b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_client.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 require 'thwait'
 require_relative 'google_client'
 require_relative 'helper'
+require_relative 'bigquery_service_with_policy_tag'
 
 module Embulk
   module Output
@@ -12,7 +13,8 @@ class BigqueryClient < GoogleClient
 
         def initialize(task, schema, fields = nil)
           scope = "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/bigquery"
-          client_class = Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::BigqueryService
+          need_takeover = (task['mode'] == 'replace') && (task['retain_column_descriptions'] || task['retain_column_policy_tags'])
+          client_class = need_takeover ? BigqueryServiceWithPolicyTag : Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::BigqueryService
           super(task, scope, client_class)
 
           @schema = schema
@@ -30,6 +32,14 @@ def initialize(task, schema, fields = nil)
           @task['encoding'] ||= 'UTF-8'
           @task['ignore_unknown_values'] = false if @task['ignore_unknown_values'].nil?
           @task['allow_quoted_newlines'] = false if @task['allow_quoted_newlines'].nil?
+
+          @src_fields = need_takeover ? fetch_src_fields : []
+        end
+
+        def fetch_src_fields
+          get_table(@task['table'])&.schema&.fields || []
+        rescue NotFoundError
+          []
         end
 
         def fields
@@ -524,13 +534,23 @@ def patch_table
           with_job_retry do
             table = get_table(@task['table'])
 
-            def patch_description(fields, column_options)
+            def patch_description_and_policy_tags(fields, column_options, src_fields)
               fields.map do |field|
+                src_field = src_fields.select {|s_field| s_field.name == field.name}.first
+                if src_field
+                  field.update!(description: src_field.description) if @task['retain_column_descriptions'] && src_field.description
+                  field.update!(policy_tags: src_field.policy_tags) if @task['retain_column_policy_tags'] && src_field.policy_tags
+                  if field.fields && src_field.fields
+                    nested_fields = patch_description_and_policy_tags(field.fields, [], src_field.fields)
+                    field.update!(fields: nested_fields)
+                  end
+                end
+
                 column_option = column_options.select{|col_opt| col_opt['name'] == field.name}.first
                 if column_option
                   field.update!(description: column_option['description']) if column_option['description']
                   if field.fields && column_option['fields']
-                    nested_fields = patch_description(field.fields, column_option['fields'])
+                    nested_fields = patch_description_and_policy_tags(field.fields, column_option['fields'], [])
                     field.update!(fields: nested_fields)
                   end
                 end
@@ -538,7 +558,7 @@ def patch_description(fields, column_options)
               end
             end
 
-            fields = patch_description(table.schema.fields, @task['column_options'])
+            fields = patch_description_and_policy_tags(table.schema.fields, @task['column_options'], @src_fields)
             table.schema.update!(fields: fields)
             table_id = Helper.chomp_partition_decorator(@task['table'])
             with_network_retry { client.patch_table(@project, @dataset, table_id, table) }
diff --git a/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_service_with_policy_tag.rb b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_service_with_policy_tag.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..011d7f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/embulk/output/bigquery/bigquery_service_with_policy_tag.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+require 'google/apis/bigquery_v2'
+
+module Embulk
+  module Output
+    class Bigquery < OutputPlugin
+      # NOTE:
+      # Due to the JRuby version constraint in Embulk v0.9, it’s not possible to upgrade to a version of the google-api-client (0.37.0 or later) that includes support for policy_tags.
+      # So the workaround was implemented using a patch-like solution as shown below.
+      class BigqueryServiceWithPolicyTag < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::BigqueryService
+        def get_table(project_id, dataset_id, table_id, selected_fields: nil, fields: nil, quota_user: nil, user_ip: nil, options: nil, &block)
+          command = make_simple_command(:get, 'projects/{projectId}/datasets/{datasetId}/tables/{tableId}', options)
+          command.response_representation = TableWithPolicyTag::Representation
+          command.response_class = TableWithPolicyTag
+          command.params['projectId'] = project_id unless project_id.nil?
+          command.params['datasetId'] = dataset_id unless dataset_id.nil?
+          command.params['tableId'] = table_id unless table_id.nil?
+          command.query['selectedFields'] = selected_fields unless selected_fields.nil?
+          command.query['fields'] = fields unless fields.nil?
+          command.query['quotaUser'] = quota_user unless quota_user.nil?
+          command.query['userIp'] = user_ip unless user_ip.nil?
+          execute_or_queue_command(command, &block)
+        end
+
+        def patch_table(project_id, dataset_id, table_id, table_object = nil, autodetect_schema: nil, fields: nil, quota_user: nil, options: nil, &block)
+          command = make_simple_command(:patch, 'projects/{+projectId}/datasets/{+datasetId}/tables/{+tableId}', options)
+          command.request_representation = TableWithPolicyTag::Representation
+          command.request_object = table_object
+          command.response_representation = TableWithPolicyTag::Representation
+          command.response_class = TableWithPolicyTag
+          command.params['projectId'] = project_id unless project_id.nil?
+          command.params['datasetId'] = dataset_id unless dataset_id.nil?
+          command.params['tableId'] = table_id unless table_id.nil?
+          command.query['autodetect_schema'] = autodetect_schema unless autodetect_schema.nil?
+          command.query['fields'] = fields unless fields.nil?
+          command.query['quotaUser'] = quota_user unless quota_user.nil?
+          execute_or_queue_command(command, &block)
+        end
+      end
+
+      class TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::TableFieldSchema
+        class PolicyTags
+          include Google::Apis::Core::JsonObjectSupport
+          include Google::Apis::Core::Hashable
+
+          class Representation < Google::Apis::Core::JsonRepresentation
+            collection :names, as: 'names'
+          end
+
+          attr_accessor :names
+
+          def initialize(**args)
+            update!(**args)
+          end
+
+          def update!(**args)
+            @names = args[:names] if args.key?(:names)
+          end
+        end
+
+        include Google::Apis::Core::Hashable
+
+        attr_accessor :policy_tags
+
+        def update!(**args)
+          super
+          @policy_tags = args[:policy_tags] if args.key?(:policy_tags)
+        end
+
+        class Representation < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::TableFieldSchema::Representation
+          collection :fields, as: 'fields', class: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag, decorator: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag::Representation
+          property :policy_tags, as: 'policyTags', class: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag::PolicyTags, decorator: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag::PolicyTags::Representation
+        end
+      end
+
+      class TableSchemaWithPolicyTag < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::TableSchema
+        class Representation < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::TableSchema::Representation
+          collection :fields, as: 'fields', class: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag, decorator: TableFieldSchemaWithPolicyTag::Representation
+        end
+      end
+
+      class TableWithPolicyTag < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::Table
+        class Representation < Google::Apis::BigqueryV2::Table::Representation
+          property :schema, as: 'schema', class: TableSchemaWithPolicyTag, decorator: TableSchemaWithPolicyTag::Representation
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/test_transaction.rb b/test/test_transaction.rb
index bc59510..1478ed7 100644
--- a/test/test_transaction.rb
+++ b/test/test_transaction.rb
@@ -137,6 +137,36 @@ def test_replace_with_partitioning
           end
           Bigquery.transaction(config, schema, processor_count, &control)
         end
+
+        def test_replace_with_retain_column_descriptions
+          config = least_config.merge('mode' => 'replace', 'retain_column_descriptions' => true)
+          task = Bigquery.configure(config, schema, processor_count)
+          any_instance_of(BigqueryClient) do |obj|
+            mock(obj).get_dataset(config['dataset'])
+            mock(obj).get_table(config['table'])
+            mock(obj).create_table_if_not_exists(config['temp_table'], options: {"expiration_time"=>nil})
+            mock(obj).create_table_if_not_exists(config['table'])
+            mock(obj).copy(config['temp_table'], config['table'], write_disposition: 'WRITE_TRUNCATE')
+            mock(obj).delete_table(config['temp_table'])
+            mock(obj).patch_table
+          end
+          Bigquery.transaction(config, schema, processor_count, &control)
+        end
+
+        def test_replace_with_retain_column_policy_tags
+          config = least_config.merge('mode' => 'replace', 'retain_column_policy_tags' => true)
+          task = Bigquery.configure(config, schema, processor_count)
+          any_instance_of(BigqueryClient) do |obj|
+            mock(obj).get_dataset(config['dataset'])
+            mock(obj).get_table(config['table'])
+            mock(obj).create_table_if_not_exists(config['temp_table'], options: {"expiration_time"=>nil})
+            mock(obj).create_table_if_not_exists(config['table'])
+            mock(obj).copy(config['temp_table'], config['table'], write_disposition: 'WRITE_TRUNCATE')
+            mock(obj).delete_table(config['temp_table'])
+            mock(obj).patch_table
+          end
+          Bigquery.transaction(config, schema, processor_count, &control)
+        end
       end
 
       sub_test_case "replace_backup" do