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July 09, 2026
 

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FOREIGN WORKERS

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.
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested three men over alleged involvement in employing Vietnamese nationals without work permits in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 4, 2026
Three arrested over illegal hiring of Vietnamese workers in Japan
The incident came to light last May following an investigation into a 26-year-old Vietnamese man who was arrested on suspicion of illegal stay.
Tokyo Station. There were 932,090 people living under permanent residency in Japan as of June 2025, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2026
Immigration agency tightens guidelines for permanent residency
The revision made Tuesday comes amid efforts by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to take a tougher stance on immigration.
Lalit Bishowkarma (center), the son of migrant worker Rudra Bahadur Kami, loads his father's coffin onto a truck upon its arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Every day the bodies of three or four migrant workers are handed back to their families at Kathmandu airport.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 18, 2026
Nepal is ‘addicted’ to the trade in its own people
The money sent back by Nepalis working abroad represents more than a third of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.
Team Mirai head Takahiro Anno speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Feb. 8.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
AI could replace foreign workers in Japan, Team Mirai says
While some parties during Lower House campaigning argued for strictly monitoring foreign nationals or setting quotas, Team Mirai sees AI as a means to replacing them altogether.
Sanseito, a party led by Sohei Kamiya (second from right), opposes the long-term settlement of foreign nationals but supports the use of short-term foreign labor.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2026
Conservative parties push for capping of foreign resident population
The Japan Innovation Party, Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan are taking a hard-line stance while other parties are proposing alternative measures.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2018. Vietnamese comprised the largest percentage of foreign workers in Japan in 2025.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2026
Foreign workers in Japan reach a record 2.57 million in 2025
The total was up 11.7% from a year earlier and comes amid an acute labor shortage in the rapidly aging country.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (far left) speaks in a meeting of ministers on policies regarding foreign nationals and immigration at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2026
Government unveils tighter policies on immigration and foreign residents
“We drafted this policy package to respond to citizens’ sense of anxiety and unfairness,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara.
People take Japanese language lessons at a job placement company in Hanoi. Vietnamese now make up a quarter of Japan’s 2.3-million-strong foreign workforce.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2026
Vietnamese caught in Japan’s illegal worker crackdown
Many come to Japan under its Technical Intern Training Program, which is billed as a way for foreign workers to learn skills to take back to developing countries.
Members of the Vietnamese community take part in a Buddhist ceremony at Daionji temple in the city of Honjo, Saitama Prefecture, in August 2024. Just under half of the roughly 450,000 technical interns under Japan's Technical Intern Training Program as of June 2025 were from Vietnam.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 16, 2026
Japan is right to rethink its immigration approach
In the past decade, arrivals have surged as the population ages. The number of foreigners has doubled since 2012 to top 4 million.
"Immigration minister" Kimi Onoda and Reiko Hayashi, the director-general of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, hold up a government expert panel's final report on recommendations for foreigner-related policies on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2026
Government panel proposes mandatory integration program for foreign residents
If adopted, foreign nationals would be required to take part in the proposed program to gain basic knowledge about Japanese society and administrative procedures.
Foreign technical interns working at a factory. Immigrants are rarely hired full-time or promoted to senior positions because they are still viewed as temporary fixes for short-term labor shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2025
Stick over carrot approach doesn’t help foreign residents integrate, professor says
Regulatory proposals such as higher visa fees outnumber measures aimed at supporting integration, such as improving Japanese language education.
An industrial complex in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The Mie Prefectural Government is considering stopping the hiring of foreign nationals amid concerns over leaks involving agricultural production information and residents’ personal data.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 24, 2025
Mie Prefecture considers stopping hiring foreign nationals
Officials cited concerns about information leaks, particularly in light of China’s national intelligence law requiring its citizens to cooperate with intelligence agencies.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

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