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July 12, 2026
 

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IMMIGRATION SERVICES AGENCY

Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2026
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Under the new structure, fees will vary depending on the length of the permit, with those in the top bracket required to pay at least ¥65,000.
Tourists from abroad wearing kimonos pose for a souvenir photo with cherry blossoms in the city of Kyoto in March.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2026
Japan to raise visa fees for foreign nationals in first revision in 48 years
The fee will be increased from the current ¥3,000 to ¥15,000 for a single-entry visa and from ¥6,000 to ¥30,000 for a multiple-entry visa starting July 1.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya speaks to reporters in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Sanseito submits bill to create agency on policies related to foreign nationals
After submitting the bill, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s policies on foreign nationals.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is calling for “strong and effective” controls on land acquisition to prevent individuals or entities deemed security risks from acquiring sensitive properties, regardless of nationality.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2026
LDP pushes tougher land and visa rules while avoiding nationality trap
Legal experts have argued that nationality-based restrictions could conflict with domestic law and international agreements.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi (right) and Kazuki Yuda of Touch Immigration Law Firm during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Tighter immigration rules could tarnish Japan’s image, opposition lawmaker says
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi cautions against a shift in Japan toward exclusionism and xenophobia.
Manish Kumar, who asked that his face not be shown, at his restaurant in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, on June 1.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 8, 2026
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
The life that restaurateur Manish Kumar built in Japan for he and his family has been upended after Japan enacted stricter rules for the business manager visa.
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.
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 foreign resident population rose 9.5% to a record 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
JAPAN / Society
May 19, 2026
Almost half of foreign residents have experienced discrimination: government survey
The Immigration Services Agency found 47% of foreign residents have experienced some form of discrimination in their everyday lives in Japan, most commonly from strangers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
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.
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.
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.
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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