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June 07, 2026
 

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FOREIGN WORKERS

Shady business manager visa applications using shell companies can often be identified from the paperwork, with unusually small offices and addresses shared by multiple firms among the red flags.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2026
Dubious immigration brokers helped spark business manager visa crackdown
Shady immigration consulting firms, many in China, help people set up shell companies to apply for a business manager visa, or advertise the option of renting out properties.
Farooq Soban, a Pakistani resident of Ebetsu, Hokkaido, points to damage from a fire that destroyed a local mosque in the city, on April 29.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 1, 2026
Mosque fire shows need for better communication with foreign residents
The fire in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, exposed the need for deeper cooperation between Japanese and Pakistani residents on a broad range of issues.
Members of the Kawasaki Foreign Resident Council discuss issues faced by foreign residents during a meeting on May 17.
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 31, 2026
As immigration rises, Kawasaki¡¯s foreign council shows path toward inclusion
The council aims to improve the lives of foreign residents and foster a harmonious co-existence with native Japanese.
Haneda Airport in April 2025. An immigration bill enacted Friday includes plans to introduce an electronic travel authorization system by March 2029.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2026
Japan enacts bill to drastically raise visa-related fees
Under the bill, the statutory upper limit for fees to change residency statuses or extend a period of stay will go from ?10,000 to ?100,000.
The Immigration Services Agency plans to strengthen enforcement by enhancing joint and independent crackdowns, encouraging information reporting and expanding cyber patrols.
JAPAN
May 22, 2026
Japan says it will crack down harder on illegal overstaying
The stronger crackdown measures come as the number of foreign nationals staying illegally fell to 68,488 as of Jan. 1, down from about 74,863 a year earlier.
Taro Tsurugashima presents a petition with 53,000 signatures calling for a revision to the stricter business manager visa eligibility requirements, on May 13 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2026
Foreign business owners face frantic scramble to leave Japan amid tighter visa rules
Stricter criteria for the business manager visa has left many owners, some of whom have been in Japan for decades, out in the cold.
Japan¡¯s popular cheap curry lunches and other popular dishes at international restaurants are increasingly under threat as tighter visa rules and labor shortages squeeze the migrant workers and restaurant owners who sustain them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2026
Japan food sector: immigration, a labor crunch and rising costs
While you might think this is the result of the immigration policy of the Sanae Takaichi administration, both issues can be traced to her predecessors.
Manish Kumar, an Indian national who has run an Indian restaurant in Saitama Prefecture for 18 years, speaks at a rally in Tokyo in protest of new business manager visa requirements.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2026
After rule change, Japan sees 96% drop in business manager visa applications
Immigration chief Kimi Onoda says the revision of the approval criteria has alleviated concerns that the visa was being misused as a means of obtaining residency.
Masako Suzuki (right) and Sosuke Seki, members of the plaintiff's legal team, speak to reporters Tuesday at the Tokyo District Court's press club.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2026
Tokyo court rejects refugee¡¯s bid for naturalization over limited Japanese skills
The case highlighted the unclear criteria foreign residents face when wanting to become a naturalized citizen in Japan, with the plaintiff's lawyers calling it a "black box."
The streets of Ikuno Korea Town in the city of Osaka in December 2023
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2026
Foreign business owners in Japan feeling the strain of tighter visa criteria
A survey by Tokyo Shoko Research has found that about 5% of foreign business owners are considering closing up shop while 45% expect impacts to operations.
A bill to revise the immigration control and refugee recognition law is approved at a Lower House plenary meeting on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 29, 2026
Japan to likely pass bill raising immigration fees
If the bill also clears the House of Councilors,?the new immigration fees would be implemented within this fiscal year, which ends next March.
The government is considering creating a Japanese language program for foreign people that would be a factor in residency screenings.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2026
Japan considers making language programs a factor in residency screenings
This comes in response to calls from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for measures to address problems between Japanese and foreign residents.
Starting Wednesday, Japan will require certain foreign nationals applying for its most common white-collar work visa to prove language proficiency.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 15, 2026
Japan implements language proficiency requirements for certain visa applicants
The requirement applies to jobs in which language skills are central, such as translation, interpretation and customer-facing roles.
Filipinos with specified skills qualifications learn how to prepare fish for sushi in Tokyo in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2026
Japan freezes visa applications for foreign restaurant workers
Visas will not be issued for applications received after Monday, but for those submitted prior to that, certificates will be issued in order as long as the quota is not exceeded.
An immigration control passport stamp issued in Japan. A surge in arrivals from overseas has coincided with a tightening of immigration controls under a government initiative aimed at reducing overstayers.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2026
Japan¡¯s tighter immigration controls yielding results
The number of overstayers fell to 68,488 as of Jan. 1, down by 6,375 from a year earlier and marking the second consecutive annual decline.
Rusutsu lift pass police check that companies guiding and teaching on their resort have a corporate pass.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2026
Foreign ski instructors and guides operating illegally in Japan spark concerns
Officials and businesses in major winter destinations warn that such illicit operations could disrupt public order, create unfair competition and raise safety concerns.
Visitors in the Dotonbori area in Osaka. The number of foreign residents in Japan has exceeded 4 million for the first time.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 28, 2026
Japan¡¯s foreign resident population hits record 4.12 million
The figure is a 9.5% increase from a year earlier, the Immigration Services Agency said Friday.
Japan introduced the specified skilled worker residency program in 2019 to expand the acceptance of foreign workers amid domestic labor shortages.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2026
Japan¡¯s tally of specified skilled workers hits record 390,296
The program was introduced in 2019 to expand the acceptance of foreign workers amid domestic labor shortages.
Training for foreign workers under Japan¡¯s Specified Skilled Worker program on March 6 in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 22, 2026
Japan trains foreign workers for railway maintenance
The trained workers are expected to find jobs at railway companies across the country, attracting attention as to whether they can contribute to alleviating the labor shortages.
Vietnamese students attend a Japanese language class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
The limits of Japan¡¯s immigration charade
Until now, the quality and training of Japanese-language teachers were largely left to the private sector, including academia.
A bleak prognosis for Japan¡¯s demographic future
Japan¡¯s population decline continues to accelerate despite some modest positive signs, highlighting the need for broader social, economic and cultural changes to raise the birth rate.
How Japan created its naphtha supply bottleneck
Japan received 93% of its oil via the Strait of Hormuz prior to the Feb. 28 start of the Iran war.
Japan likely sold Treasurys to fund yen intervention
Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura speaks to reporters in Tokyo on May 1 following reports of Japan's possible intervention in the currency market.
Is an honorable U.S. surrender to Iran inevitable?
An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 15, shortly before the start of hostilities on Feb. 28.
J-pop group Arashi takes its final bow at Tokyo Dome
J-pop group Arashi ended its long career with a final nationwide tour and the last concert took place in Tokyo on May 31.
How Japan created its naphtha supply bottleneck
Japan received 93% of its oil via the Strait of Hormuz prior to the Feb. 28 start of the Iran war.
¡®Fujiko¡¯ transforms a mother¡¯s resilience into festival gold
¡°Fujiko¡± stars Yuki Katayama (left) as a scrappy single mother who fights for her autonomy in 1970s and ¡¯80s Japan.
Japan should prepare for an intense typhoon season this year, experts say
Elevated water levels are seen along the Tama River in Kawasaki's Tama Ward as Tropical Storm Jangmi brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Kanto region Wednesday.
The LDP wants another coalition partner. Will it happen?
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), delivers a question during a House of Representatives plenary session on May 25. Making the DPP a coalition member would make it easier for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (above left) to drive forward her legislative agenda.
Japan¡¯s Cannes moment signals a new global push
Tao Okamoto (left) and Virginie Efira (right) shared the Cannes Film Festival¡¯s best actress honor for their roles in Ryusuke Hamaguchi¡¯s ¡°All of a Sudden,¡± a coproduction between Japan, France, Belgium and Germany.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
He told his wife he was ¡®coming home.¡¯ Then he disappeared.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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