Immigration Policy and Laws

Recently, I have been receiving inquiries about applying for residence in Japan or applying for a visa in the United States, and I have a lot of thoughts about them, so I will try to write about them.

1. It is not easy to stay long in Japan

Since last year, many foreigners have been asking me questions like, “I want to live in Japan with my children and grandchildren after I retire,” or “I want to live in Japan while keeping my job in my home country.” Because the yen has been weak, they probably think that prices are cheaper here than in the country they live in, and it is probably similar plan that was popular a while ago, when Japanese people thought that if they retired and spent the rest of their lives in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand or Indonesia, it would be cheaper to live in Japan. Because of the lost 30 years, especially the huge failure of Abenomics, the Japanese yen has become weaker than any other foreign currency, and now people from Southeast Asia come to Japan for traveling, so I think it is understandable that they would want to live here because it is cheaper for foreigners. However, what I would like such foreigners to understand in advance is

(i) Japan is basically a country that excludes immigrants, and although it accepts immigrants as temporary labor due to labor shortages, it does not have a policy of welcoming immigrants. There are residence statuses that temporarily accept tourists with high incomes and remote workers who earn more than 10 million yen, but there are currently no residence statuses for people who want to retire and relax without spending much money.
(ii) Basically, no country will accept immigrants unless there is a benefit to the country include Japan. Retirees and remote workers do not pay income or relatively big percentage of taxes, so there is not much benefit to accepting them. Japan may be safe and friendly, but they are not welcomed when it comes to staying in the country.

In the first place, countries whose main income comes from tourism have begun to accept digital nomad visa as a compromise to the sharp decline in tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is only a compromise, and that is why digital nomad visa have a short period of stay. Japan has created a system for digital nomads by imitating other countries, but the hurdles are high: 1) proof that you are earning more than 10 million yen per year in your current job, 2) health insurance is provided in your home country already, and 3) the stay period is six months. It cannot be renewed, and you can only reapply after more than six months have passed since obtaining it.

If you want to live in Japan with a status of residence that is not related to working in Japan, you have to choose either (1) investing more than 5 million yen in capital, starting a company, making profits, and contributing to the Japanese economy, or (2) marrying a Japanese person and residing here as a spouse of Japanese.

2. Highly Skilled Professional Points System

One of the reasons why Japan’s immigration policy is difficult to understand is that, although it was supposed to have a fairly consistent policy, the Abe administration added things like highly skilled professional points and special skills, which allow technical intern trainees who should have returned to their countries to stay in Japan and continue working, and the system lost its fundamental principle. When I talk about the special skills system, it will become a long-running criticism of the LDP government, so I will refrain from doing so now, but I think it is about time to drastically revise the highly skilled professional points system that began in 2012.

I have heard that this system was created to give preferential treatment to highly educated and high-income Westerners in order to encourage them to stay in Japan for a long time, but when it comes to start, Chinese and other Asians who are using it, and according to the Immigration Services Agency, Chinese Users of this system will account for 65.7% of the total in 2023. It will probably be even more so now in 2025. Perhaps Westerners have exceptionally high incomes and good treatment from the time they come to Japan as expats, so they don’t need to use the highly skilled professional points, which require them to meet detailed requirements.

And one of the benefits of the highly skilled professional points is that if you get 70 points or more, you can apply for permanent residence after three years, and when you get 80 points or more, you can apply for permanent residence after only one year, and if you pass, you can live in Japan without any further examination to see if you meet the requirements. In short, with this system, Japan is creating a shortcut for Chinese people to live in Japan permanently. Is such a system acceptable?

As for the points, if you graduated from a university or graduate school ranked within the top 300 in the world, are young, and earn a slightly higher salary than others, 70 points is a piece of cake. Nowadays, it is not difficult to get 80 points even if you earn less than 7 million yen per year, which is not a high income by global standards. Even if you can’t speak Japanese at all, it is easy to get points in other areas. It is not “highly”, but rather “average”, and it is possible to use it even if you are not that excellent.
If it is different from the original intention, it should be revised immediately, and it is not discrimination against foreigners satisfying these requirements. This preferential treatment can be said to be a rude system for other foreigners who have lived in Japan for a long time, worked for a decent wage, and paid their taxes properly. I would like to see it revised as soon as possible.

3. Inspector’s discretion

Japan’s immigration system is based on two systems: visas and residence statuses, and most foreigners do not understand the difference between them, so the initial explanation of just this one thing is troublesome. The next confusing thing is that simply meeting the requirements does not grant a residence application, and the decision is made at the discretion of the examiner, or additional documents are requested even if the necessary documents are submitted and the requirements are met.

In fact, the Immigration Control Act (or more accurately, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, the Enforcement Order of the Act, and the Enforcement Regulations of the Act) contains phrases such as “discretion by the Minister of Justice” and “discretion by the inspecter,” which casts a veil over the reasons for permission or denial. This phrase is used even in places where it should be clearly defined by law rather than discretion. I hear that in Australia, the job content and requirements they are looking for are written in detail online, and you can simply choose whether you are suitable for the job and apply via online. Of course, as a professional who handles applications, it is undeniable it is an advantage for us to being able to apply on behalf of others and claim compensation because the procedures are complicated, and depends on our skill how to convince in the vague space of discretion. However, when you see that the review period and the requirements of the examiner are obviously different depending on race and country of origin, it is troublesome to explain each and every one, and it is also true that it is difficult to accept the wide discretion. Also, when my residence application was rejected only once, I later heard from my client that the examiner said, “We will not approve your company’s next residence application under any circumstances,” and I have no clue for solving such the discretion that has reached high level. The US visa system is also based on the examiner’s impression and has a large degree of discretion, which is why the ability of the immigration lawyer representing the applicant makes a difference in whether or not the application is approved. However, the US could not have been a country without immigrants, and the same is true for Japan. Nowadays, there are many industries that cannot continue without foreign workers, so I think it is time to change the mysterious parts that are shrouded in mystery to something that is easier to understand from a third party’s perspective.

4. Others

The Chinese New Year started today, and Chinese people are flooding in as usual. However, Tokyo subways have not been open for a long time, and foreign tourists (regardless of their nationality) who do not know how to get off and wait once are blocking the way of people getting off, causing chaos, and foreign tourists are always sitting from around Asakusa, so no matter how tired I am, I have already given up on sitting while riding. Also, it seems that the number of Chinese people residing (and renting apartments for short periods) in Taito Ward where I live has increased significantly in the past few years, and their group actions block the roads and interfere with shopping at the supermarket. The influx of Chinese people seems to be the same in the neighboring Bunkyo Ward, and if it continues like this, it will probably be occupied by foreigners who do not know the Chinese and manners, and tired residents will run away. I have no intention of driving out the foreigners who have been living quietly for a long time, nor of discriminating against them, but the tourists who are coming now are the type who buy cheap goods, stay in cheap hotels, and eat standing in front of convenience stores, and there is no way that our country will benefit from their increase. I hope that the wrong immigration policies and overtourism will be revised and overcome as soon as possible.