Tag - immigration

 
 

IMMIGRATION

The government plans to make children of foreign workers residing in Japan eligible for university-level scholarships under certain conditions.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2024
More foreign students set to be eligible for Japan government scholarships
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology expects that around 500 to 1,000 students would be newly eligible for the scholarships.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters about the new system to train foreign workers in the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Government OKs bill for new foreign worker training system
The new system is expected to begin as early as 2027 if the legislation is enacted.
Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2024
A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan
Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police target visible minorities. We discuss what they hope to achieve.
Korean Canadian director, playwright and screenwriter Celine Song walks on the stage to pose for photos after a screening of her film, "Past Lives" in Seoul last week.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2024
Oscar-nominated Korean diaspora film follows 'lives we leave behind'
"Past Lives," which marks Celine Song's debut as a director, is one of several recent films that address the Korean diaspora.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture. Japan is set to sharply increase the number of foreign nationals it accepts under its skilled worker visa, with plans to receive up to 800,000 people in the next five years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024
Japan considers doubling limit on skilled foreign workers
The government is said to be considering adding the road transportation, railway, forestry and timber sectors to those eligible for the visa.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said the guidelines were being revised to provide more examples of positive and negative factors for evaluation in deciding whether to grant an individual special permission for residence.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024
Japan's Immigration Agency sets new guidelines for visa overstayers
A legislative amendment will outline the new guidelines to improve transparency and allow individuals to directly apply for special permission to stay.
Police officers assist a woman in front of a police box in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2024
Tokyo police mistakenly arrest Filipino man for allegedly overstaying
Police released the Filipino man and offered an apology about an hour after arresting him on Saturday.
A new future initiative aimed at training foreign workers is part of a broader strategy to address pressing labor shortages in Japan.
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2024
Japan eyes training foreign workers amid labor shortages
The proposed training system will supersede the current foreign technical internship system.
Migrant workers harvest and package vegetables in a greenhouse in Gasan-myeon, South Korea, in December.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 3, 2024
South Korea needs foreign workers, but often fails to protect them
Though a shrinking population makes imported labor vital, migrant workers routinely face predatory employers, inhumane conditions and other abuse.
U.S. President Joe Biden discusses his administrationユs immigration and border security policies at a Border Patrol station in Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 1, 2024
Trump and Biden both visit U.S.-Mexico border and spar on immigration
With the presidential election less than eight months away, polls show most voters blame U.S. President Joe Biden for the number of illegal entries.
Prospective foreign vocational school graduates who finish education ministry-accredited academic courses will be granted “technology, humanities and international affairs” residence status intended for white-collar workers such as engineers, interpreters and designers, even if their jobs don’t necessarily relate to what they have studied.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2024
Japan eases residency rules for foreign graduates of vocational schools
The relaxation of rules is aimed at retaining highly skilled professionals amid a chronic labor shortage.
Christmas lights decorate downtown Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, on Jan. 5. In Canada, a post-COVID explosion in foreign students has resulted in housing shortages and flawed academic programs being taught in strip malls.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Canada’s welcome for foreign students becomes 'trafficking’ nightmare
An open-door policy has caused rental prices to soar, soured the electorate on new arrivals, and allowed colleges to take advantage of young people.
Indonesian trainees study Japanese at a dormitory in the town of Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 14.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2024
Only 45 quake-hit foreign trainees in Japan allowed to do other jobs
In the prefecture, around 670 foreign technical interns reside in six municipalities severely impacted by the disaster.
Ukrainian evacuees arrive at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in April 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2024
90% of Ukrainian evacuees in Japan unwilling to return home
According to the survey of 153 Ukrainian evacuees last month, only 16, or 10.5%, said they would return home immediately if a cease-fire is reached.
Myint Myint Aye (left) poses with her supporter in Nagoya on Thursday after she being granted refugee status in Japan.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2024
Japan grants refugee status to Myanmar democracy advocate
Myint Myint Aye, who came to Japan in January 2019 as a technical intern, has been a vocal advocate for democracy in her country.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in 2018
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2024
Japan considers revoking permanent resident status of tax dodgers
Immigration authorities are considering revoking the residency status of foreign permanent residents who evade or repeatedly delay paying their taxes.
A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a howitzer while waiting for it to fire toward Russian positions, in the Donetsk region last month.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024
Democracy slides amid wars and political polarization, study says
Standards across the world fell amid the spread of wars, authoritarian crackdowns and declining levels of trust in mainstream political parties.
Foreign tourists in the city of Tottori in November
JAPAN / Society
Feb 10, 2024
Most Japanese outside major urban areas say they do not engage with foreign nationals
Of the people who gave valid responses, 83.8% said they do not have regular exchanges with the foreign nationals who live alongside them.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discusses a new foreign worker system, in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 9, 2024
Japan to end technical intern program and allow transfers to new jobs
A planned new system will focus on securing and developing essential workers from abroad to tackle the country's current labor shortage.
U.S. President Joe Biden sought to cast responsibility for the failure to secure an agreement on the border — an issue which polls show is a major political liability for his re-election hopes — on congressional Republicans and Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2024
Biden pins border bill failure on Trump with Ukraine hanging
Biden acknowledged the Senate package was all but dead.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world