TOKYO - A wave of public outcry is building in Japan over newly tightened business visa rules. A petition demanding a review of the policy has gathered tens of thousands of signatures, following the viral spread of a video showing an emotional plea from an Indian restaurant owner.
The revised rule, implemented late last year, raised the minimum capital requirement for a business manager visa from ¥5 million to ¥30 million - about $190,000. Japanese authorities say the change was necessary to curb abuse of the system.
Critics argue the new threshold is forcing out long-established foreign residents. Manish Kumar, who has lived in Japan for 30 years, broke down in tears at a gathering Wednesday. “My children only speak Japanese…and we’re told to go back to India,” he said, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
Kumar’s business manager visa was not renewed. It is unclear if his curry restaurant in Saitama, near Tokyo, remains open. A clip of his speech has been viewed millions of times online.
The Change.org petition, which calls for scrapping the ¥30 million requirement, had nearly 60,000 signatures by Friday and was submitted to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan this week.
Applications for business manager visas have dropped 96% since the change, per the Yomiuri Shimbun. Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda defended the policy Tuesday, saying concerns about misuse for migration have been “largely allayed.”
The number of business manager visa holders surged to 45,000 by June last year - half of them Chinese, and 2.7 times the total from a decade ago. Authorities have uncovered numerous shell companies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to tighten immigration rules, even as Japan faces severe labor shortages and a declining population.