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January 02, 2026
 

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EXPATS

Construction in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward in August
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 29, 2025
Japan should regulate land use rather than real estate purchases by foreign nationals, expert says
An expert on a panel set up by the Cabinet believes the government is better off regulating how land is used rather than who is allowed to own it.
In 2025, the 20 Questions column had 26 total interviews that offered insights into the professional, creative and personal backgrounds of people from various careers and walks of life.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 27, 2025
Finding a balance between tradition and innovation in 2025
With more than two dozen interviews throughout the year, our 20 Questions column highlighted diverse views on creativity, tradition and cultural hybridity.
Foreign technical interns working at a factory. Immigrants are rarely hired full-time or promoted to senior positions because they are still viewed as temporary fixes for short-term labor shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2025
Stick over carrot approach doesn't help foreign residents integrate, professor says
Regulatory proposals such as higher visa fees outnumber measures aimed at supporting integration, such as improving Japanese language education.
An industrial complex in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The Mie Prefectural Government is considering stopping the hiring of foreign nationals amid concerns over leaks involving agricultural production information and residents’ personal data.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 24, 2025
Mie Prefecture considers stopping hiring foreign nationals
Officials cited concerns about information leaks, particularly in light of China’s national intelligence law requiring its citizens to cooperate with intelligence agencies.
Tape marked 'immigration' indicates where people should wait in line. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters on foreign-national policy has compiled an interim draft of recommendations to submit to the government in January, aiming to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2025
LDP policy panel drafts interim report on foreign nationals
The party has set up three project teams to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals
Under the plan, only sectors where shortages remain severe after those adjustments would be permitted to accept foreign labor.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2025
Japan aims to take in 1.23M foreign workers under labor migration programs
The number was calculated by estimating labor shortages at the end of fiscal 2028 and subtracting expected gains from productivity improvements and domestic recruitment.
According to the Justice Ministry, 12,248 people applied for naturalization in 2024, with 8,863 approved.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2025
Japan eyes stricter residency requirement for naturalization
By extending the necessary period of residency to at least 10 years, Japan would bring the nationality requirement into line with that for obtaining permanent residency.
Tourists visit Fujikawaguchiko for sightseeing on May 20, 2024. The total number of foreign entrants to Japan reached approximately 40.34 million in 2024, the highest figure on record.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2025
Advisory council calls for digital border controls and tighter immigration oversight
The advisory council for immigration policy said in its report that digitalization was one of the core pillars of future immigration policy in Japan.
Anton (right) came to Japan in 1975 and, through her participation in the community, formed long-lasting relationships with her neighbors.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 22, 2025
Making a home in Japan with holiday meals and memories
An American writer reflects on Christmas cake, New Year’s food and the communities she has found in Japan over the course of 50 years.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party says that an envisaged new requirement of Japanese proficiency for obtaining permanent residency was prompted by many reports of issues involving foreign residents in local communities and administrative procedures resulting from their lack of Japanese language skills.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 20, 2025
Japanese proficiency eyed as permanent residency requirement
To obtain the status, foreign nationals will also be mandated to take a program aimed at helping them smoothly integrate into local communities.
A government survey released Tuesday showed that there were 49 cases of groundwater use by individuals or entities believed to be foreign across Japan as of October.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 16, 2025
Groundwater survey finds 49 cases of use by parties believed to be foreign
The survey, the first of its kind to be conducted by the Japanese government, was carried out following concerns about foreign parties acquiring water sources.
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Nov. 28.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2025
Japan aims to require nationality declaration to register property from fiscal 2026
While nationality information will be available in public registry, it will stored in the government’s real estate system for interagency sharing.
Bilateral relations between China and Japan may be tense, but life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people in Japan. “Politics and daily life are very separate,” says Zhang, a mother of three.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 15, 2025
Japan-raised Chinese children navigate complex cultural terrain
Despite bilateral tensions, daily life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people who call Japan home — including the children and teenagers who have grown up here.
Southern California native Hector Herrera is one of three pastors at Tokyo Union Church in Omotesando.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 12, 2025
Hector Herrera: ‘Tolerance means remaining in the conversation’
Music, incense and natural wines — a pastor at Tokyo Union Church talks about his hobbies and inspirations, both in and out of the church.
People walk on a back street in Akihabara, Tokyo, on Nov. 13.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2025
LDP compiles proposals to address crimes by foreign nationals
The package, among other things, calls on the National Police Agency to secure a list of interpreters to be dispatched to prefectural police departments to speed up investigations.
More than a quarter of married people in Japan report spousal violence of some kind, and nearly 1 in 10 women have experienced financial abuse, according to a 2023 survey by the Japan Cabinet Office.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 8, 2025
Finding a way forward from financial abuse
In Japan, nearly 1 in 10 married women have been the victim of financial abuse. Two expats share their stories, along with the resources and advice that helped them through.
Visitors head to Shirakawago, a popular tourist spot, in Gifu Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Explainer
Dec 4, 2025
The key points under discussion on policies affecting foreign nationals
Policymakers are looking at tighter restrictions on real estate purchases, higher visa-related fees and better Japanese language education, among other things.
A native of the Jura region of France, Severine Lamielle moved to Tottori Prefecture in 2024 and found a job as a taxi driver.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 1, 2025
A French cabbie behind the wheel in small-town Japan
In Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, Severine Lamielle’s career as a taxi driver is both a curiosity and a small sign of demographic change.
State Minister of the Cabinet Office Hayato Suzuki (left) delivers opening remarks to the government's expert panel on policies regarding foreign nationals on Thursday. Reiko Hayashi, the director-general of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (right), chairs the panel.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 28, 2025
Japan eyeing much higher visa fees for foreign nationals
The government is considering raising the fee for permanent residency to as high as ¥300,000.
Ukrainian-born Aonishiki (right) is promoted to ōzeki during a ceremony in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2025
A sumo champion shows Japan’s real feelings about foreigners
Japan recognizes that it needs foreign nationals. Foreign residents bring energy and innovation to this country, and they help Japan and the Japanese create and produce.
In New Year's message, emperor reflects anew on preciousness of peace
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko converse while looking at traditional crafts featuring horses, the 2026 zodiac animal, on Dec. 23 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
On to 2050: Life in a shrinking Japan
As Japan’s population ages, fewer workers will be supporting more dependents, reshaping the country’s social and economic balance.
The enduring charm of Japan's oldest Edo Period amusement park
Asakusa Hanayashiki, located west of Sensoji Temple.
Dangerous new equilibrium awaits Japan-China ties in 2026
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in South Korea on Oct. 31.
TSMC says it has started mass production of 'most advanced' 2nm chips
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest semiconductor maker, says it has started mass producing 2-nanometer semiconductor chips.
Gods and games: Rituals that kick off Japan’s sporting year
Members of the Chunichi Dragons pray at Atsuta Jingu in Nagoya ahead of the start of their season in March.
Dangerous new equilibrium awaits Japan-China ties in 2026
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in South Korea on Oct. 31.
No 60,000 Nikkei 225 likely in 2026, unless the AI bubble remains extra bubbly
After breaking 50,000 in 2025, the Nikkei 2025 is not seen hitting 60,000 in 2026.
Who would win the 'Sumo Awards' for 2025?
Onosato is presented with a ceremonial sash in the town of Ami in Ibaraki Prefecture on Friday.
Amid uncertainty at home, tatami-makers find a new market: foreign buyers
Toshiyuki Namigai (left) shows tatami sheets of varying thickness to a client, Swedish entrepreneur Anton Wormann, at Namigai's store in Tokyo in December.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

As Japan’s population ages, fewer workers will be supporting more dependents, reshaping the country’s social and economic balance.
On to 2050: Life in a shrinking Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

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