Concerned about the legal hurdles faced by Japan's foreign residents, Masafumi Inagaki switched careers in his 50s to become an administrative scrivener, to help people he believes will play an important role in the country's fast-aging society.
Once a month, working out of his office in the Mie prefectural city of Yokkaichi, home to about 7,500 foreigners, Inagaki offers free consultations to foreigners applying for visas or filing paperwork to marry Japanese.
"I am struggling every day," Inagaki, 63, said in an interview, recalling a former case.