foreigners in Japan

Japan announces plans for twenty-fold increase in permanent residency fees, alongside higher visa costs

Government reveals long-awaited fee schedule ahead of proposed October implementation.

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Japan moves to enforce language requirements for foreign nationals seeking permanent residency

Programmes on community etiquette may also become part of the screening process.

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Tokyo cops arrest foreigner for suspected visa violation, don’t know what new residence cards look like

Seems like the people doing on-the-street immigration checks should know what immigration documents look like, doesn’t it?

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Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country

First increase to visa fees in nearly 50 years will affect some arriving foreigners more than others.

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Japanese government postpones proposals to restrict real estate purchases by foreigners

Rising security and economic tensions prompting consideration of new rules to make it harder for foreigners to buy property in Japan.

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New bounty system starts in Japan, rewards reports of illegal employment of foreigners

Ibaraki Prefecture now offers rewards to whistleblowers who lead them to companies illegally employing foreign workers.

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Japan is so hungry for workers it used up its five-year visa quota in record time

Many people with dreams are poised to save understaffed kitchens, but they’re currently stuck behind a bureaucratic velvet rope.

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Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa

Requirement to be added to “jobs in which Japanese is used.”

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Japan now has stricter requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship

Change comes with less than half a week’s notice, new requirements will take five more years to meet.

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Number of foreigners living in Japan has grown 50 percent in four years, hits historic high

Japan’s foreign resident population surges past four million for the first time in history.

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Japan has abolished advance deportation notifications to foreigners’ lawyers

16-year policy swept away with less than a week for transition.

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British man arrested for biting Japanese police officer during shokumu shitsumon questioning

The question of how to respond to the Japanese police’s quasi-random on-the-street questioning is a complex one, but this isn’t the answer.

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Almost exactly half of the new adults in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward are foreigners

One of the city’s most internationalized districts hits a cultural milestone on Coming of Age Day.

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Nearly one in ten young adults living in Japan isn’t ethnically Japanese, statistics show

Japan’s young adult foreign national population is soaring while its ethnically Japanese counterpart is shrinking.

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Majority of Japanese mayors say foreign residents are essential but most see good and bad effects

Civic leaders see economic upsides and cultural difficulties in Japan’s accelerating internationalization.

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Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements

Required time spent living in Japan to apply for citizenship likely to double too.

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Record number of foreign children in Japan need help understanding Japanese in school

As Japan’s foreign population grows, its foreign kid count is getting bigger too, and educational systems might not be keeping up with the country’s changing demographics.

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Number of foreigners studying Japanese in Japan hits record high, but are there enough teachers?

Students studying Japanese as a second language in-country hits historic high, majority of teachers are unpaid volunteers.

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Japanese government considering raising foreign resident visa renewal fees by 400 percent or more

Proponents say they want to use extra money to improve quality of life for foreign residents, strengthen programs to find and deport illegal residents.

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Foreign tourists in Japan break inbound fall tourism record, are spending their money differently

Number of international visitors to Japan continues to rise, but spending patterns are shifting as bargains start to dry up.

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