Trend of foreigners leaving Japan may “accelerate” under tighter visa rules

Ray Hoe left Japan to return to Singapore on July 18 after failing to renew his business manager visa following abrupt changes to the requirements, leaving him unable to be present for the opening of a new hotel business.Known simply as Ray, with a dream of becoming a hotelier and years of experience in real estate, he saw the central Japan city of Toyama as a prime location for luring visitors away from other destinations in Japan struggling with overtourism.“I’ve always been attracted to the smaller cities where you get a different outlook of what the real Japan is,” he said of the capital of Toyama Prefecture.With his intimate knowledge of the South-east Asian market, Ray said he could help contribute to the central government’s goal of attracting 60 million tourists by 2030.But when Ray explained his goals to immigration officers while applying for a business manager visa, they encouraged him to leverage his other experience as a successful apparel business owner to establish himself in Japan before pivoting to the hotel project.Following their advice, he rented a retail space in Osaka and started preparations to renovate it to open a clothing business, before October rolled around and he began hearing of the visa changes and the new capital requirement.“As a business owner, I realised I don’t need 30 million yen (S$240,000) to do apparel. It’s throwing money down the drain,” he said.The sudden changes prompted Ray in November to go ahead with the purchase of a 77-year-old Japanese-style ryokan he had been eyeing in Toyama for renovation. But he was now in a race against time to secure a hotel licence before applying to renew his business manager visa in May.From there, Ray’s problems snowballed. Renewal required proof of revenue from the hotel business, but none of the banks he approached would allow him to open a corporate account without a hotel licence.Unable to speak Japanese, Ray had to navigate via a small local team he had assembled and consultants to acquire the licence.But lengthy holiday periods and inspection processes delayed issuance of the hotel licence until mid-June.Before he had the chance to present the licence, Ray was summoned to Osaka by immigration authorities to learn the outcome of his renewal application. Within two hours of arriving at his appointment, he had a hole punched in his Japanese residence card and was ordered to leave Japan.Officials had told Ray that the reason for his application being denied was due to his business failing to make any revenue.“I felt it was so unfair,” he said, lamenting that he had been forced to pivot completely under the new requirements, as pursuing both businesses would have been unsustainable.“I really don’t think (the changes) have been well thought through,” he said. “I would say it has hurt Japan in the sense of making it an attractive place for foreigners to set up businesses.”Ray came to Japan before being joined by his wife and two children, whom he said were just beginning to get used to life in the country when they learnt they had to leave.“Thankfully, I didn’t sell my place (in Singapore).” “I wish it wasn’t so hard,” he said.Junko Watabe, representative and an administrative scrivener at Tokyo-based Legal Support Group Beyond, believes the government’s proposed tightening of permanent residency requirements will “accelerate” the trend of foreign residents leaving Japan.The proposed guidelines are part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to create an “orderly society” in which Japanese and foreign nationals coexist while cracking down on illegal activities.According to the Immigration Services Agency, citing survey data, some foreigners receive public assistance after obtaining permanent residency, which it views as problematic.Much like business manager visa holders, “the number of people holding general working visas like the engineer, specialist in humanities or international services status will likely decrease,” Watabe said via e-mail.“I believe there will be polarisation between a select group of highly skilled professionals and temporary ‘blue-collar’ workers,” she said.But with stricter pathways to permanent residency and considerable Japanese proficiency becoming one of the new requirements, Watabe said: “It remains to be seen whether Japan will continue to be chosen as a place to work.”Among long-term residents facing uncertainty over their future in Japan, some could also face danger if forced to return to their home countries.Ephrem Haile helps run his wife Tibebe Menbere’s Ethiopian restaurant in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.Little Ethiopia offers a rare opportunity to try authentic food from the East African country in Tokyo and has featured frequently in television appearances and media articles.But despite the press attention, the family faces uncertainty over how their small restaurant can amass 30 million yen in capital in three years, with Haile being a dependent of his wife, who holds a business manager visa.Haile first arrived in Japan in 2004 and worked for the Ethiopian Embassy in Tokyo. Since then, he has sought political asylum in Japan, citing a deteriorating situation in his home country.He has also been unable to apply for permanent residency due to being issued consecutive yearlong visas that do not meet the minimum three-year requirement for eligibility.“We are showing and teaching Ethiopian culture, food culture... everything. We work more than the Ethiopian embassy,” he said.The couple’s two children, who were born in Japan, “only eat Japanese food. They only speak Japanese”, he said.“I paid every tax, everything for this government. My money is also here in Japan. I follow Japanese law,” he said. “It’s also my country.” KYODO NEWS