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July 11, 2026
 

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FOREIGN WORKERS

Tape marked 'immigration' indicates where people should wait in line. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters on foreign-national policy has compiled an interim draft of recommendations to submit to the government in January, aiming to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2025
LDP policy panel drafts interim report on foreign nationals
The party has set up three project teams to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals
Under the plan, only sectors where shortages remain severe after those adjustments would be permitted to accept foreign labor.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2025
Japan aims to take in 1.23M foreign workers under labor migration programs
The number was calculated by estimating labor shortages at the end of fiscal 2028 and subtracting expected gains from productivity improvements and domestic recruitment.
Tourists visit Fujikawaguchiko for sightseeing on May 20, 2024. The total number of foreign entrants to Japan reached approximately 40.34 million in 2024, the highest figure on record.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2025
Advisory council calls for digital border controls and tighter immigration oversight
The advisory council for immigration policy said in its report that digitalization was one of the core pillars of future immigration policy in Japan.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party says that an envisaged new requirement of Japanese proficiency for obtaining permanent residency was prompted by many reports of issues involving foreign residents in local communities and administrative procedures resulting from their lack of Japanese language skills.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 20, 2025
Japanese proficiency eyed as permanent residency requirement
To obtain the status, foreign nationals will also be mandated to take a program aimed at helping them smoothly integrate into local communities.
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 4, 2025
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Policymakers are looking at tighter restrictions on real estate purchases, higher visa-related fees and better Japanese language education, among other things.
A native of the Jura region of France, Severine Lamielle moved to Tottori Prefecture in 2024 and found a job as a taxi driver.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 1, 2025
A French cabbie behind the wheel in small-town Japan
In Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, Severine Lamielle’s career as a taxi driver is both a curiosity and a small sign of demographic change.
Ukrainian-born Aonishiki (right) is promoted to ōzeki during a ceremony in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2025
A sumo champion shows Japan’s real feelings about foreigners
Japan recognizes that it needs foreign nationals. Foreign residents bring energy and innovation to this country, and they help Japan and the Japanese create and produce.
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2025
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
The government is aiming to raise fees to match those charged by Western nations in fiscal 2026 amid an increase in the number of foreign residents.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a ministerial meeting on policies over foreign nationals at the Prime Minister’s Office on Nov. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 20, 2025
Japan panel to discuss orderly coexistence with foreign nationals
Based on the results of the discussions at the panel, the government is expected to outline policies on foreign nationals as early as next January.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Kimi Onoda says she is committed to implementing stricter management of non-Japanese workers and land acquisitions by foreign nationals.
A maiko walks down a street crowded with tourists in Kyoto. Challenges that come with a massive influx of overseas visitors and foreign nationals buying up real estate are just some of the immigration problems that have become hot-button political issues in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 11, 2025
Government and bad actors are at the root of the foreign national issue
Japan has experienced an explosive increase in overseas tourists since the COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, and its global appeal as a travel destination has grown.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign nationals and immigration on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 4, 2025
Takaichi leads first ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign residents
The government envisions a tougher crackdown on visa overstayers, as well as on foreign residents who fail to pay social insurance premiums.
"The aim is to address public anxiety and a sense of injustice, not to exclude foreigners," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a news conference on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2025
Japan’s ministers likely to discuss policy for foreign nationals next week
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made addressing issues related to foreign nationals one of her key policy agendas.
Jon Heese (second left) takes part in a 2024 New Year's nihonshu barrel opening ceremony.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 17, 2025
Why I chose Japanese citizenship over permanent residency
It may be adequate for some residents’ purposes, but when the chips are down, many will be shocked at just how few protections it offers.
Foreign residents accounted for 3.21% of Japan's total population.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Foreign residents in Japan hit record 3.95 million
The number accounted for 3.21% of the country’s total population as of the end of June.
There has been a rapid rise in the number of business manager visa holders in recent years, triggering concerns that some are using it as an easy route to long-term residency rather than for genuine entrepreneurship.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Business management visa requirements to be tightened from next week
There has been a rapid rise in the number of business manager visa holders in recent years, triggering concerns some are merely using it as an easy route to long-term residency.
Japan’s government set a target of 60 million annual foreign visitors by 2030, but many businesses involved with tourism are already struggling with skilled worker shortages.
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2025
Japan set to be most impacted by tourism labor shortages globally, report shows
The country will see a 29% shortfall in necessary labor in 2035, according to the Future of the Travel & Tourism Workforce report.
The government's revised action plan for preventing human rights violations linked to corporate activities is likely to focus on small companies as a "priority area."
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Japan’s revised corporate action plan on human rights to prioritize small firms
The government aims to accelerate efforts across entire supply chains by encouraging small businesses, which have been slower to adopt human rights measures, to make improvements.
A Swedish snowboard instructor works at the Niseko ski resort area on Hokkaido, in Kutchan, in December 2022
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2025
A Japanese ski resort town is roiled by a debate over immigration
Residents are protesting a planned housing facility for foreign workers, exposing the conflict between labor needs and worries over immigration.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
What’s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics
Sanseito’s slogan is “Japanese First,” and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
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.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Japan’s southwestern islands on high alert as Typhoon Bavi approaches
A woman walks out of a shop with duct-taped windows to prevent damage from Typhoon Bavi as it approaches, in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
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.

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