Updated 12 Jun 2022. This page has sections on:
Japan’s Approach to Ukrainian Refugees Is What Its Refugee Policy Ought To Be "Japan’s willingness to embrace Ukrainian refugees stems from its hierarchical view of the world and its economic-first view of migrants." This article looks at Japan's harsh policy towards asylum seekers and the more favourable treatment of refugees from Ukraine, and argues that this is because Japan has a "utilitarian-functional type of policy" which treats refugees and migrants in terms of how useful they are seen to be for Japanese society. The Diplomat, 11 Apr 2022.
Japan’s Self-Destructive Immigration Policy "Criminalizing asylum seekers and stigmatizing immigration is only worsening Japan’s demographic crisis." This article compares Japan's punitive (negative, harsh) approach to refugees and migrants with its need for workers because of its aging society. The Diplomat, 4 Jan 2022.
Japan looking to allow more foreigners to stay indefinitely in a major immigration policy shift This article discusses the possibility of Japan making it easier for foreign workers to bring their family to Japan and stay for as long as they want to. This would build on a change in the immigration law in 2019 that allowed "specified skilled workers” in 14 sectors such as farming, construction and sanitation to come to Japan but only to stay five years and not to bring family. CNBC, 17 Nov 2021.
Japanese government drops bill to revise immigration law amid opposition The government decided Tuesday to withdraw a bill revising rules on how to accommodate foreign nationals facing deportation, ruling coalition lawmakers said, amid criticism over the alleged improper treatment of a Sri Lankan woman who died while held at an immigration facility. Japan Times, 18 May 2021
Proposed immigration law revision sparks debate A controversial draft revision to Japan's immigration law has sparked fierce debate among lawmakers. It would change rules on detaining foreign nationals facing deportation orders. NHK World, 14 May 2021.
Japan’s Changing Immigration and Refugee Policy This article considers different views on the recent proposed changed to the immigration law, the history of Japan's refugee policy, its current strict acceptance policy and conditions in detention for asylum seekers and migrants. The Diplomat, 12 March 2021.
Foreigners in fear of Japan's immigration proposals Foreign communities in Japan, and their local supporters, are calling for lawmakers to scrap proposed changes to the country's immigration law. The revisions, which critics describe as inhumane, involve the forcible deportation of asylum-seekers who fail to prove a case to stay as refugees. NHK World, 1 May 2021.
Can Japan Embrace Multiculturalism? An article which considers various aspects of multiculturalism and immigration policy in Japan, including the use of the Technical Internship Training Programme as a backdoor for bringing foreign workers to Japan without having an immigration policy to support them. Nippon.com, 19 Feb 2020.
Japan’s immigration policy under scrutiny This article and a video that is included with it looks at criticisms of japan's very strict policy on acceptance of refugees and it use of detention for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. NHK World, 27 Nov 2020.
It is time for Japan to start talking about its immigration policy While it may be argued that the 2018 reforms [to the immigration control law] formally recognize that the future success of the Japanese economy will depend on the contributions made by migrant labor, the timid nature of this policy and its inability to address the underlying issues of social inequality with regards to foreign residents has led many critics to argue that these reforms are too limited in scope and what Japan really needs is a comprehensive national immigration policy. Japan Times, 8 Oct 2020.
Japan’s Labor Migration Reforms: Breaking with the Past? In 2019, Japan began to set aside the decades-old distinction in its migration regime between “un-/low-skilled” work and highly skilled professional employment, hoping to bring in as many as 350,000 medium-skilled foreign workers over five years to fill labor market gaps in a rapidly aging society. Nearly a year into implementation of this system, however, only a fraction of these workers has been hired, raising questions about the extent of reforms likely by a country that has long taken a guarded view of immigration. Migration Policy Institute, 20 Feb 2020.
Japan’s Immigration Policies Put to the Test In April 2019, Japan officially opened its doors to lower-skilled foreign workers under its new Specified Skills visa program. Arguing that this is just ashort-term fixes to Japan’s labor shortages, making use of the very problematic Technical Intern Training Program, immigration expert Menju Toshihiro discusses the recent reforms and the need for a more decisive shift in attitudes and policies. Nippon.com, 18 Nov 2019.
Abe walks a tightrope on Japan’s foreign worker policy by Hifumi Okunuki This article looks at the views on immigration of three different sections of the Japanese population: the nationalists (who oppose immigration); the multinationalists (who support it); and the apprehensive, the biggest group who are worried about what more immigration might bring but who are also concerned about the aging of Japanese society and labour shortages. It argues that Abe's government tries to please both the first and second groups by using foreign workers to fill labour shortages but not letting them settle in Japan, bring their families or become part of Japanese society. Japan Times, Apr 29, 2018.
Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)'s Fundamental Approach to Facilitating Employment of Workers from Overseas: Summary This has recommendations for measures to accept more highly skilled professional, economic infrastructure workers e.g. for construction and manufacturing), and social infrastructure workers (e.g. for nursing and domestic work). November 21, 2016. See also the Japanese version: 外国人材受入促進に向けた基本的考え方
Experts warn Japan’s language schools are becoming a front for importing cheap labor Japan Times, Jan 3 2017.
Why Immigrant-Shy Japan Is Luring Foreign Workers: QuickTake Q&A. A short overview of immigration policies, attitudes to immigration and the reality of labour shortgages and use of migrant labour in Japan. Bloomberg, 22 Feb, 2017.
Japan desperate for foreign farmers The Japanese government will begin discussions to attract experienced farmers from abroad to a country now suffering from serious labor shortages in the agriculture industry. Nikkei Asian Review, 2 Oct 2016.
Japan quietly accepting foreign workers — just don’t call it immigration This article discusses Japan's shrinking workforce and need for unskilled foreign labour, and looks at the approach of the Liberal Democratic Party led government to avoid official or permanent immigration of unskilled workers and instead use the Technical Internship Training Programme to provide this labour. Japan Times, 3 Nov 2016.
第５次出入国管理基本計画（本文) / Basic Plan for Immigration Control (5th Edition) in Japanese and English. This report has useful data on foreign residents, 'illegal'/undocumented foreigners, asylum seekers and refugees and technical interns, as well as explanation of the Japanese Government's polices in these areas. Ministry of Justice, Sep, 2015.
Will Japan be a country that welcomes all? An article that reviews a debate in the magazine Sapio about immigration policy with contributions from various perspectives. Japan Times, 24 May 2014.
Population fixes have anti-foreign bias, official says Hidenori Sakanaka, a former senior immigration official argues that the Japanese government is ignoring the demographic (population) reality that Japan must become a nation of immigrants and accept large numbers of immigrants. Japan Times, 16 May 2014.
Japan’s ‘no immigration principle’ looking as solid as ever Chris Burgress argues against Sakanaka,in the article above, that Japan will not become a migrant nation soon because of the strength of the idea that Japan is a 'homogenous' nation, with no diversity and, as a result, decision-making is based on the 'no immigration principle'. Japan Times, 18 Jun, 2014.
Japan and the immigration issue A debate about immigration in Japan between Barry Brophy who argues that Japan is not ready or willing to accept an immigrant influx and Arudou Debito who argues that more migration to Japan is inevitable, so we should start getting used to the idea.
New link added 09 May 2018 Migrant Integration Policy Index for Japan 2014 includes information on labour market mobility, family reunion, education, health, political participation, permanent residence, access to nationality, and anti-discrimination - scroll to the Policies-Summary section and click on the icons there.
Japan: Migrants in Agriculture, IT, Health An overview of the situation. Migration News, April 2012, Volume 19, Number 2
Demographics of Japan A Wikipedia article that includes information on both minority groups of Japanese nationality and foreign residents as well as issues such as the finger printing of foreigners, treatment of undocumented ('illegal') migrants, and (in the section on language) nationality and foreigners taking Japanese citizenship
More foreigners working in Japan At the end of October 2013, the number of foreign workers in Japan stood at 717,504, up 5.1 percent from the year before, the highest since employers started regularly submitting reports on foreign employees to the ministry in 2007. This editorial looks at some of the reasons for this growth and suggests some policies that are needed in response to it. Japan Times, 15 Feb 2014.
Foreign domestics seen as aiding working mothers: Shortage of helpers keeps career women with kids out of workplace This article explains arguments in favour of allowing immigration of foreign domestic workers to Japan but also looks at possible resistance to this from within Japanese society because people are reluctant to have non-family members as household helpers. Japan Times, 20 May, 2014.
Osaka zone a litmus test of foreign worker policy This article looks at the plan to create a zone in Kansai to accept foreign domestic workers to allow Japanese women to go out to work. It explains criticisms of the plans including that it may lead to trafficking of women and abuses of the human rights of the migrant women who come to Japan. Japan Times, 20 Jul, 2014.
>>> More on women migrant workers >>>
‘Skilled foreigner’ invite too rigid a bar: More flexibility, and opportunity, said key to bringing in the talented This article discusses the lack of success for a government plan to bring “highly skilled” foreign professionals to Japan under a new visa system, and possible changes to the scheme. Japan Times, Sep 4, 2013.
Flawed foreign labor plan This editorial argues that the Abe Government's plans to use foreign labour to make up for labour shortages, including for Olympic construction work, has not been discussed enough and will cause problems. The idea to expand use of the technical internship program, which should be used to train people from Asian countries nit use them as cheap labour, is particular problematic. Japan Times, 15 Apr, 2014. >>> More on trainees and technical interns >>>
Foreign residents can’t claim welfare benefits: Supreme Court The Supreme Court ruled Friday that foreigners with permanent residency status are ineligible for welfare benefits, overturning a decision by the Fukuoka High Court that had acknowledged their eligibility under the public assistance law. Japan Times, 18 Jul, 2014.
Humanize the dry debate about immigration This article by Debito Arudou looks at the recent debate about how to make up Japan's labour shortage and whether immigration should be part of that, but focuses mainly on the lack of term in Japanese to describe individual immigrants. Japan Times, 4 June 2014.
Foreign labor key to Olympic gold This article looks both at the shortage of labour in Japan, including government estimates that half of the labour needed for the Olympics will be foreigners, and at the restrictive laws and conservative attitudes to immigration in Japan, and considers political debates about whether to increase the numbers of migrants workers in Japan. Japan Times, May 28, 2014.
Labor policy message to foreigners; Thanks. Now go home This editorial criticises government plans to allow foreigners, especially interns on the technical training program, to stay longer to meet Japan's labour shortage for the Olympics, but then to have to leave when Japan now longer needs them. Asahi Shimbun, 19 Apr 2014
Foreign workers fear exploitation as Olympic projects gather steam This article by Hifumi Okunuki looks at proposals to use foreign interns from countries such as Vietnam to meet the labour shortage for Olympic construction work. It takes a critical look at the history of the foreign technical intern training programme and explains that recent government proposals now openly treat it as a source of cheap foreign labour not as a training programme to support international development. Japan Times, 9 Apr, 2014.
Immigrants eyed as a key to maintaining population level With Japan's birthrate hovering near an all-time low, the government is looking at accepting more immigrants to help offset a projected population decrease. Asahi Shimbun, 25 Feb 2014.
Illegal immigrants could lose basic social services under new resident system The 60-year-old alien registration system became obsolete on July 9, replaced by new rules and regulations under a revised law intended to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in Japan. Asahi Shimbun, 9 Jul 2012.
Strict immigration rules may threaten Japan's future A discussion of the plan by Prime Minister Naoto Kan in 2010 to double the number of skilled foreign immigrants in Japan. Washington Post, 28 July 2010.
'Only immigrants can save Japan' Hidenori Sakanaka, former head of the ministry's Tokyo Immigration Bureau and current executive director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, argues that Japan "must welcome 10 million immigrants between now and 2050." This article looks at Sakanaka's position and compares it with the views of Goro Ono, an economist who published a book titled "Accepting Foreign Workers Spoils Japan." Japan Times, 21 Oct, 2012.
Japan PM says nation should open up to migrants Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday that his country, which is battling low birth rates and an ageing population, should make itself more attractive to migrants. Japan has some of the world's strictest controls on immigration, and Hatoyama admitted that he was broaching a "sensitive issue". ABS CBN News/Agence France-Presse, Nov 15th 2009.
Opening the door to foreigners: Expert warns Japan shuns the very immigrants it needs to thrive An interview with Susumu Ishihara, 57, president of the Japan Immigrant Information Agency, who believes Japan need immigrants if it is to stay the second biggest economy in the world, and should have proper laws and regualtions in place to accept immigrants. He has recently started a new magazine called Immigrants with his own money to provide more informaton about immigration issues and foreigners living in Japan. In the interview, he says Japan already has many foreign workers and must look after them better, and talks aboutthe situation of Brazilian Nikkeijin and immigration policies aimed at them. Japan Times, April 30, 2009.
Girl chooses Japan over parents A teenager in Japan whose parents are being deported to the Philippines has decided to stay in Tokyo with her aunt. After the family lost a three-year battle to remain in Japan, Noriko Calderon, 13, had to choose whether to stay in Japan or go with her parents. BBC News, 14 April 2009. >>> More on Filipino people in Japan and children's issues in multicultural Japan >>>
Japanese ruling may split family The Japanese government has ordered the parents of a young Filipina to leave the country within two weeks....Noriko Calderon was born and raised in Japan and speaks only Japanese but now faces being left behind or being deported. BBC News, 13 February 2009. >>> More on Filipino people in Japan and children's issues in multicultural Japan >>>
'Golden parachutes' mark failure of race-based policy by Debito Arudou. An article criticizing the new Japanese government policy of giving Nikkei immigrants ¥300,000 if they leave Japan, now that unemployment is rising in Japan. It also looks at the affect of the current economic crisis on all foreign workers in Japan. And it reviews the recent history of Japanese immigration policy, especially the policies started in the 1990s to attract Nikkei immigrants to Japan and to bring in Chinese people, supposedly as 'trainees' to learn skills, but in reality as cheap, unskilled labour. Japan Times, April 7, 2009. >>> More on Nikkeijin in Japan >>>
Japan Pays Foreign Workers to Go Home Looks at the decision by the Japanese government to pay Nikkei, mostly Japanese-Brazilian, immigrants to return to the Latin American countries they came from, and discusses the arguments for and against this policy, especially the rule that Nikkei who agree to leave won't be able to return to work in Japan again in the future. New York Times/ International Herald Tribune, 23 April, 2009. >>> More on Nikkeijin in Japan >>>
Govt to issue new ID cards to sniff out illegals The government intends to strengthen its efforts to prevent foreigners from staying here illegally by unifying administrative systems for foreign residents in the nation, according to a draft bill to revise the immigration law obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday. The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 17, 2009.
Let 10% of Japan be foreigners: Nakagawa Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers made an ambitious proposal Thursday to raise the ratio of immigrants in Japan to about 10 percent over the next 50 years. Japan Times, June 13, 2008. >>> More on immigration issues >>>
Radical immigration plan under discussion Foreigners will have a much better opportunity to move to, or continue to live in, Japan under a new immigration plan drafted by Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers to accept 10 million immigrants in the next 50 years. Japan Times, June 19, 2008.
Japanese immigration: Don't bring me your huddled masses This article looks at current debates about immigration and the benefits and costs of larger numbers of foreign workers, and particularly at the changing views of Keidaran, the main employers' association in Japan. The Economist, Dec 30th, 2008.
Japan mulls multicultural dawn A report on how the ageing population in Japan is forcing people to reconsider attitudes to immigration. BBC News, October 5, 2004.
Fortress Japan fears immigrant surge An article that looks at the debates in Japan about solving Japan's labour shortages with large-scale immigration. BBC News, 18 May, 2005.
Japan's trial run for migrant workers This article looks at whether migrant workers could help solve an imminent labour shortage caused by Japan's population crisis. It focuses particularly on Nikkei Brazilan immigrants, who were encouraged to emigrate to Japan from the 1990s, and on Hamamatsu city in Shizuoka that has a large Nikkei Brazilian population. BBC News, 21 November, 2007. >>> More on Nikkeijin in Japan >>>
Japan curbs 'entertainment visas' Japan has started applying stricter regulations on the tens of thousands of Filipinos who come to Japan on so-called entertainment visas. The new measure is a response to criticism of Japan's failure to curb human trafficking. Many Filipinos who arrive on such visas end up working in Japan's sex industry. BBC News, 15 March, 2005. >>> More on Filipino people in Japan >>>
Immigration Various immigration data for Japan including the foreigner population, rate of immigrants, number of new citizenships (people becoming Japanese), numbers of asylum seekrs and numbers of refugees accepted. Nationmaster.
Japan launches new immigration law A new immigration law comes into effect in Japan on Friday. Under the new regulation, those who are caught after entering Japan illegally face possible criminal charges, causing alarm among the country's growing population of undocumented immigrants....Under the new law, illegal immigrants can no longer avoid the possibility of being fined or imprisoned after being here for three years. BBC News, 18 February, 2000.
Can Japan absorb foreign influx? Immigration reality makes assimilation absolutely vital This article argues that the size of recent immigration into Japan and Japan's falling population make the presence of large numbers of foreigners inevitable and asks how well Japan does in assimilating - or accepting - these foreigners. Japan Times, Jan. 24, 2006.
Permanent Residency (Eijuuken) in Japan: How and Why to Get It From debito.org
Stricter visa rules eyed for foreigners of Japanese descent The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's special committee on foreign workers proposed Tuesday that the government set stricter regulations for foreign nationals of Japanese descent when they renew their visas. Japan Times, July 19, 2006.
Criminal Records Targeted: Foreigners face checks on Japanese ancestry Descendants of Japanese nationals can obtain permanent residency more easily than other foreigners, but the Justice Ministry said Friday it will tighten standards for granting long-term resident status to foreigners of Japanese descent in the wake of the murder last month of a 7-year-old girl in Hiroshima, allegedly by a Peruvian man who may have Japanese ancestry. Japan Times, Dec. 10, 2005.
Human chain draws attention to plight of detained foreigners Hundreds of people formed a human chain in front of the Justice Ministry on Wednesday, seeking to draw attention to the plight of more than 1,000 foreigners held at detention centers across the country in connection with immigration procedures. Human rights lawyers and campaigners in Japan have protested over what they describe as undue, lengthy detention periods faced by these foreigners and called on the Justice Ministry to create a more open and multicultural society, with particular regard to the interests of asylum-seekers. Japan Times, Oct. 14, 2004. >>> More on refugee issues >>>
Father's plight raises immigration policy questions Ken Imran Massey considers Japan his home. The Pakistani national has spent almost 18 years -- half his life -- in this country and his two children are both Japanese citizens. Despite this, Massey is facing imminent deportation. Immigration officials issued a deportation order almost three years after Massey and his Japanese wife divorced in 1994 after a 10-year marriage. Japan Times, March 17, 2001.
Suit seeks to nix deportation order that will split up family A Turkish Kurd, his Filipino wife and their 3-year-old Japan-born daughter have filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the Justice Ministry's decision to deport them over visa violations. The suit was filed Friday at the Tokyo District Court by lawyer Takeshi Ohashi, who is acting on behalf of the plaintiffs because the couple are being detained by the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau. Japan Times, March 17, 2004.
Court upholds family's deportation order: Kurd dad must return to Turkey; mom and Japan-born girl go to Philippine The Tokyo District Court dismissed a lawsuit Friday by a Turkish Kurd, his Filipino wife and their 6-year-old daughter seeking to reverse a deportation order for overstaying their visas. Taskin, his wife, Beltran, and their daughter, Zilan, were asking for special residency permits as the couple have lived here for more than a decade and the girl was born and raised here....Taskin is also waiting for a decision on his fourth appeal for refugee status, saying he faces arrest or torture if sent back to Turkey. Japan Times, March 24, 2007. See the article below for an update on this story.*
Kurdish man, Filipino wife granted special residence permission after overstaying visas The Justice Ministry has decided to grant special residence permission to a Kurdish man, his Filipino wife and their 7-year-old daughter, overturning its earlier decision to deport the couple for overstaying their visas. Mainichi Shinbun, March 25, 2008.
Another Century: Slump, aging Japan skew debate on foreigners This articles reports on the views of academics and immigration officials on immigration policy in Japan, likely trends for immigration to Japan in the future, and the benefits that immigrants can bring to Japanese society. Japan Times, Jan. 3, 2000.
"Japan and the immigration issue: Barry Brophy and Debito Arudou offer two views on the immigration question" This is a 2004 Japan Times article that looks at diffeent sides to the immigration debate in Japan.
Debito, A. (2007). 'Japan’s Future as an International, Multicultural Society: From Migrants to Immigrants', Japan Focus, Oct 28, 2007. Despite an express policy against importing unskilled foreign labor, the Government of Japan (GOJ) since 1990 has been following an unacknowledged backdoor "guest worker" program to alleviate a labor shortage that threatens to become chronic.
Douglass, Mike & Roberts, Glenda S, (Eds). (2003). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike. This book has an excellent collection of articles on immigration and foreign workers in Japan. See below for detials of the main chapters on immigration issues:
Douglass, M. & Roberts G. S. (2003). 'Japan in a global age of migration', in M. Douglass & G. S. Roberts (Eds). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike. Makes four main points: that Japan already has a history of migration and foreign workers so this is not a new issue; that migration of foreign labour cannot be prevented whatever immigration policies the Japanese government adopts; that Japan will need immigration of low-wage labour in the future; and that immigration does not impose high costs on Japanese society and economy.
Douglass, M. (2003). 'The singularities of international migration of women to Japan: Past, present and future', in M. Douglass & G. S. Roberts (Eds). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike. Focuses in particular on migration of women from the Philippines into the sex industry in Japan and asks why Japan is the only country in which the majority of female immigrants have been recruited legally or illegally to work in the sex industry.
Yamawaki, K. (2003). 'Foreign workers in Japan: A historical perspective', in M. Douglass & G. S. Roberts (Eds). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike. Looks at Korean and Chinese workers in Japan from the 1890s to the 1920s to argue that Japan has a long history of foreign workers and suggests similarities between the situation of foreign workers in the 1920s and in the 'bubble economy' of the 1980s.
A New Framework for Japan’s Immigration Policies By Hidenori Sakanaka, Director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, Former head of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, April 2007, with an introduction by Eric Johnston, the Japan Times.