Japan-Russia visa-free program to be put off amid coronavirus scare
The start of this year's visa-free exchange program between Japan and Russia is set to be postponed amid the coronavirus crisis, Japanese government sources said Thursday. The Russian side is concerned that the new coronavirus could be brought to Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands covered by ...
Stranded tourists flock to Tokyo immigration bureau already overwhelmed by seasonal rush
Scores of foreign nationals queued up at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau on Wednesday, as tourists unable to return home — after international flights from Japan were suspended due to COVID-19 — added to the typical numbers attending the bureau. The facility in Minato ...
Coronavirus slowing immigration procedures for labor-hungry Japan firms
Businesses reliant on a foreign blue-collar workforce are struggling to fill openings as the coronavirus pandemic slows immigration procedures to a crawl both in Japan and abroad. The global crisis has left stranded hundreds of foreign nationals who were set to join the Japanese workforce ...
South Korea suspends visas for Japanese in tit-for-tat coronavirus curbs
The bilateral feud begins anew after Japan asks Korean visitors to self-quarantine upon arrival.
Holders of new Japan working visas surge past 1,600, but still way off target
Japan set up the new visas to attract more blue-collar workers from overseas to address its acute labor shortage.
Number of foreign workers in Japan totals record 1.66 million
Chinese accounted for a quarter of the total with 418,327, followed by 401,326 Vietnamese and 179,685 Filipinos, the labor ministry says.
Japan to cast net wider after sluggish start for blue-collar visa program
Less than 2,000 have obtained working permits under the program, a low figure given that Japan was expecting to draw 40,000 in the first year.
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 ...
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.
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 ...
Japan revoked record number of visas in 2018 as authorities stepped up crackdown
Immigration authorities revoked a record 832 visas in 2018, more than double the figure of a year earlier, Justice Ministry data showed Monday. The most common reason was ceasing to conduct an activity permitted by the visa category. A further 100 people lost their visa ...
