Japan's new visa system on track to fall far short of target
The government is likely to fall far short of its target of issuing work permits under a new visa system to 340,000 non-Japanese over the next five years to alleviate acute labor shortages in 14 sectors. As of the end of September, only 219 foreign ...
Ministry to extend provisional certification for care course graduates
As part of efforts to alleviate a labor shortage in the elderly care sector, the welfare ministry plans to extend to fiscal 2026 special transitional measures that grant graduates of care courses provisional certification without the need to pass a national exam, ministry sources ...
Remain calm when stopped by the police in Japan
Non-Japanese residents face a pretty high chance of being randomly stopped by the police. Make sure you know your rights ahead of time.
Once upon a time ... in Azabu Juban
Police harassment is a fact of life for some people in Japan, which makes the occasional flash of progress all the more rewarding.
In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against loss of child custody
A growing number of foreign nationals in Japan are speaking out against what they say is a little-known but entrenched system that allows one parent in a broken relationship to take away children and block the other from visiting them. The issue of what domestic ...
Most local governments in Japan have or plan multilingual disaster info services
A large majority of major Japanese cities recognize the need to provide multilingual information and aid to the growing number of foreign residents and tourists should a natural disaster occur, a Kyodo News survey found Thursday. The survey, conducted late last year, found that 52 ...
Japan to develop app that can detect if foreign nationals' residence cards are fake
The app will read data stored in the IC chip embedded in the cards and confirm whether the data matches information listed on the cards.
Of the issues non-Japanese had to deal with in the past year (and even the past decade), some were major news stories and some fell quietly into the cracks.
U.S.-China trade tensions affecting foreign nationals in small Japanese city
A recent drop in the number of foreign nationals living in Izumo was triggered by the ensuing global economic downturn, which caused a factory to slow production.
Student's death reveals dark side of Bhutan-Japan exchange program
A year has passed since the lifeless body of a Bhutanese exchange student was discovered hanging from a tree in a public park in Fukuoka. Sonam Tobgay, 24, was a student in the Learn and Earn Program, an exchange program created by the Bhutanese labor ...
Japan inks memorandum with Pakistan on import of skilled labor
Japan and Pakistan signed a memorandum of cooperation on Monday aimed at paving the way for skilled Pakistani workers to work in Japan, the Japanese Embassy said. The cooperation framework agreement provides that "specified skilled workers" who pass a required examination and a basic Japanese-language ...
Japanese government bolsters support for foreign students seeking jobs
In a revision of its 2018 measures for an inclusive society, foreign students will be given greater leeway to apply for internships and work visas while in Japan.
