Foreign Residents Leave Japan After Visa Rules Tighten, Departures Nearly Quadruple in First Half

Foreigners who ran restaurants and companies in Japan are increasingly choosing to return home after the government sharply tightened requirements for business management visas.

The number who effectively left Japan in the first half of this year reached 953, 3.9 times the level in the same period a year earlier, the Nikkei reported. These residents had held “Business Manager” visas but departed without completing procedures such as re-entry permits. Their status then disappeared, making their departures effectively final.

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The Business Manager residence criteria were criticized as looser than those of other countries, with some foreigners allegedly using them as a means of migration.

The monthly number began rising sharply last November. Until October last year, roughly 40 people a month had chosen to leave. The figure rose to about 80 in November and 114 in December. During the first half of this year, between 100 and 200 people left each month, reaching 226 in June.

The increase followed a major tightening of visa requirements in October last year. The Immigration Services Agency raised the required capital or investment from at least 5 million yen to at least 30 million yen, a sixfold increase. Applicants must also employ at least one full-time worker, while officials now examine the manager’s education and Japanese-language ability. Business plans face a stricter review that includes confirmation by experts.

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There were also cases in which reviews found that the businesses had no real substance.

These requirements pose a particular challenge for people operating small businesses such as restaurants and hair salons. Japan has presented the changes as part of an effort to build an orderly society in which Japanese citizens and foreign residents coexist. Hiroshi Hiraguchi, then justice minister, said the previous standards had been criticized as too lenient and that some foreigners were allegedly using the visa as a means of migration. He also said officials had sometimes found businesses without real substance during residence reviews.

The government has faced criticism that policies including a plan for zero illegal overstayers and a basic policy involving quantitative management of foreign residents encourage xenophobia. Tokyo Shoko Research warned that foreign-run small companies would struggle to meet the new standards, and that a rise in closures could damage Japanese raw-material wholesalers and commercial property rental companies.

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It is not easy for small companies run by foreigners to meet the current standards.