Diet revises immigration laws amid protests from foreign residents

Wednesday 08th July, 12:53 PM JST

TOKYO —

The Diet revised immigration laws Wednesday to unify administrative work related to foreigners under the central government so as to strengthen measures against illegal residents, despite protests from legal foreign residents that the change would increase the procedural burden on them.

The legislation, which could provide a major turning point for the immigration policy of Japan with more than 2.15 million foreigners, cleared the House of Councillors with the support of the ruling bloc and the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

At present, both the central and local governments undertake work related to foreigners and local municipalities even offer services to illegal residents who number around 110,000 in Japan.

The amendments will enable the Justice Ministry to solely execute related tasks. The revision will come into force in three years and will be reviewed within three years of enforcement.

The bills, which had been discussed in parliament since April 24, will abolish alien registration cards issued by local municipalities and instead require the central government to issue new residency cards equipped with integrated circuit chips to foreigners who remain in Japan longer than three months.

Local governments had complained of difficulties in properly registering foreign residents because some migrant workers frequently change their addresses due to their jobs.

For legal residents, the amendments will boost convenience in some areas. Residency periods will be extended from the current three years to five years and they will no longer be required to obtain reentry permits if they return to Japan within a year.

However, some foreigners say the legal revision will increase the burden on non-Japanese residents. Following the amendments, foreigners will be required to report changes in their addresses and job contracts to local offices of the Justice Ministry, not to nearby municipal government offices.

Under the revised immigration laws, foreigners who fail to notify the government of changes in address within 14 days would be fined up to 200,000 yen and their residency status could be revoked if they fail to report changes within 90 days.

Foreign spouses of Japanese or non-Japanese permanent residents could lose their residency status if they fail to ‘‘conduct activities normally carried out by spouses’’ for six months under the revised immigration laws, but victims of domestic violence would be exempted from that condition. The measure has been introduced to curb bogus marriages.

Some foreigners and their supporters say such clauses in the legislation will lead to tighter controls on non-Japanese residents.

The Diet also endorsed the same day a bill to amend the basic resident registration law, which will enable foreign residents of Japan to register under the same residence system as Japanese.

But opponents of the legal revision fear foreigners who overstay their visas and some asylum seekers will not be covered by the new system and will be deprived of education and health care services now offered by municipalities.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner the New Komeito party and the DPJ therefore agreed to modify the legislation to require the government to consider how such residents could receive those basic services.

The three parties also revised original bills when they cleared the House of Representatives on June 19. The changes include allowing permanent residents of Korean and Taiwanese descent to be spared the obligation of always carrying a residency card.

After the passage of the bills, foreign residents and their supporters told a press conference that they will continue to protest so that the government will have second thoughts about implementing the legislation.

Sachi Takaya, vice secretary general of the Solidarity Network with Migrants in Japan, said, ‘‘We need to increase pressure on the Justice Ministry so that the legislation will not function as expected.’’ She said the ministry has said it will aim to flexibly enforce the amendments.

Sonoko Kawakami, campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Japan, stressed the need for steps to grant an amnesty to illegal immigrants who stay in Japan for a long time, so that they can turn themselves in and be recognized as legal residents by the government.

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Latest 15 of 117 Total Comments Show All

Lamborghini at 02:14 PM JST - 13th July

Gaijinocchio - IC cards: My biggest gripe. That chip is going direcly into the microwave to protect my identity.

I do not know if you can read Japanese or not but if you can go read up on the IC Card and what happens if you **damage it ** on purpose.

This is the new laws, all in Japanese http://www.moj.go.jp/HOUAN/NYUKANHO06/refer05.html
Gaijinocchio at 03:23 PM JST - 13th July

Lamborghini: Sorry but I can't read most of those kanji. Perhaps it's too much to ask for an English link to these new laws? Do you have one? Since, you know, these new laws might influence people who are unable to read difficult kanji.

Also, how will someone prove I damaged it on purpose? Perhaps it was defective, wear and tear, accidents happen you know. How long will it take for them to find out my card is defective anyways? I guarantee it will be.
Klein2 at 05:30 PM JST - 13th July

I think Nigelboy has overstated his case by underestimating the resentment that a foreigner feels after going through so many hoops over the years. Eikaiwa? Ok, you picked an easy target.

How about somebody who has been paying kokumin nenkin for 30 years and gets zero back? How about somebody who started a services company from scratch which now employs 30 people and their families nationwide, all Japanese, based on a novel idea?... While supporting and educating three children who will become excellent citizens? All the while getting bent over by banks for every little thing based on foreign-ness? Your response will be "cry me a river" I am sure, but maybe you could share what it is that makes you so sanguine about having the bureaucrats toy with your dignity so. Inherited wealth? Poverty? Either one of those might do it. For my own part, taxation without representation is enough of an indignity. I scraped and risked with no help for all of the things my life has produced, from which Japanese society will benefit.

The last time a banker asked me for a juminhyou, I laughed hard and told him to get out of my office. It is extremely gratifying to tell bankers to get lost. They can bow to my secretary if they want, but I am done with them. I boot them out often nowadays, with relish. So I guess I am getting a little bitter.

Why should I feel like I am doing anyone any favors by staying in Japan? Because I am. What I have is not nearly so necessary in other countries in which I might choose to live. I bring in foreign capital, pay a lot of taxes, create jobs, pay my workers' taxes, and produce intelligent, circumspect children as Japanese citizens. Japan needs that. Japan spends millions every year trying to get people like me to come to Japan, let alone stay and continue to give and give and give until I am a burnt out husk. I receive almost zero services of any kind. I support this country, and I abhor its ingratitude. I deserve better.

Unfortunately, becoming a citizen would only seal my second-class member of society status forever. So I will just sit here and seethe. I wish that the choices were easier and I would appreciate someone acting on my behalf for a change.

That should be where this post ends, but I do want to add that IC chips are being put in drivers' licenses already, so the IC thing is not just to pick on foreigners.
griff at 06:44 PM JST - 13th July

Unfortunately, becoming a citizen would only seal my second-class member of society status forever.

succinctly put
CreekDeTorrens at 06:50 PM JST - 13th July

griff at 10:21 PM JST - 8th July - And I don't have to change my name to suit everyone else.

this is something that has bothered me for some time. why is it >>acceptable for japan to insist that you take a japanese name?

==> My understanding is that this is no longer the case - they accept names in katakana. An acquaintance of mine (Japanese citizen, with Australian father and Japanese mother) got married a year or two back and his "fully" Japanese wife preferred the foreign surname. He subsequently officially changed his Japanese surname (mother's surname) to the katakana version. (Don't ask me the technical details on it.)
griff at 06:57 PM JST - 13th July

==> My understanding is that this is no longer the case - they accept names in katakana. An acquaintance of mine (Japanese citizen, with Australian father and Japanese mother) got married a year or two back and his "fully" Japanese wife preferred the foreign surname. He subsequently officially changed his Japanese surname (mother's surname) to the katakana version. (Don't ask me the technical details on it.)

that's good. thanks for commenting. but surely this must be a recent change? it seems it was a given in the past
CreekDeTorrens at 07:51 PM JST - 13th July

Griff:

I could not find a reference to the date of the law change, but the Japanese law is outlined here in Japanese. (Clause 7 of the Koseki (Family Registration)Law)

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/氏の変更届

Amongst others, it allows for those getting Japanese citizenship to retain their name in katakana, and those who have previously taken out a kanji name when naturalizing to change their name back to katakana.

On a lighter note, it enables people with humiliating surnames to change them, an example given being 牛糞 (Ukuso - cow dung)!
WMD at 09:27 PM JST - 13th July

Klein2 Great post! Respect. But you'll never get the japanophiles, who seem to approve everything their beloved country does, to agree with you.
nigelboy at 11:07 PM JST - 13th July

Klein2

I have no idea what you're trying to say except for the fact that you want separate rules for yourself than other foreigners because somehow in your own self absorbing way, your're "special" and deserve special recognition.

Ask yourself a question. Did you choose to live in Japan because you want to help the people of Japan? Did you set up your company because you wanted to help Japan? Of course not. Then why do you seek gratitude from the government when you just did these for your own reasons and that paying taxes and hiring 30 people are just the indirect result of it?
abromofo at 11:29 PM JST - 13th July

Well, I guess I feel for the people that are unhappy about these changes. But personally, I don't have any reason to be annoyed whatsoever. I get a 5 year visa, and no need for re-entry permits. Fantastic! The penalty for not notifying the MoJ of status changes seems a bit harsh. I know for a fact there is no penalty enforced at the moment. Perhaps this new penalty will not be strictly enforced either. For the average Joe foreigner, I just don't see what the big deal is, based on this information.
chuckers at 10:30 AM JST - 14th July

How about somebody who has been paying kokumin nenkin for 30 years and gets zero back?

What makes you think that after paying 30 years worth of kokumin nenkin you aren't going to get anything back?

I mean, besides what ever other person on the planet feels towards their own country's mismanagement of pension schemes.

If you meet the qualifications (the SAME qualifications) that everyone else must meet, you will receive the pension. Being a foreigner or a national has NOTHING to do with it.
realist at 02:11 PM JST - 14th July

These new laws are for the control of all gaijin living in Japan. They dont like us, want us, nor desire us to be in their holy country. We are, and always will be, second class citizens here, without human rights. We are "outsiders" even though we might aspire to become Japanese citizens. We are viewed as having "impure" blood, different from the Japanese "pure-blooded" people. These are the facts of the matter. These laws are discriminatory. I agree totally with everything Klein2 said above. Taxation without representation. We contribute to Japanese society, big time. Ive been paying my exorbitant taxes every year, supporting God knows how many senile Japanese ojiisans and obaasans, with complete ingratitude. Japan needs us, but treats us like dirt.
chuckers at 03:32 PM JST - 14th July

Taxation without representation. We contribute to Japanese society, big time. Ive been paying my exorbitant taxes every year, supporting God knows how many senile Japanese ojiisans and obaasans, with complete ingratitude.

How is that different than every other Taro Q. Kokumin?

You want to be heard? Write your Diet member. Will you be ignored? Maybe. But likely so would every other person. The only exception would be if you had a legitimate gripe. Is the IC card a ligitmate gripe? Maybe. But quit grousing about it here and go make yourself heard with your member of parliment. Having a whinge here won't do you a bit of good.
CreekDeTorrens at 07:58 PM JST - 14th July

Realist:

Have you tried applying for Japanese citizenship or know anyone who has? I know someone that has naturalized, and she seems pretty happy with her lot now as a Japanese citizen. You sound so downtrodden and discriminated against you should get out of the place.

As chuckers said, do you think any government anywhere gives you gratitude for you paying taxes/employing people? Perhaps if you are in the billionaire league or a big political donor yes. Otherwise no government would really care.

As for "taxation without representation" you sound like you want to plan your own tea party! How about in your country? Are foreigners allowed to vote in elections there?
Peeping_Tom at 08:25 AM JST - 15th July

"As for "taxation without representation" you sound like you want to plan your own tea party! How about in your country? Are foreigners allowed to vote in elections there?"

Allow me to re-phrase it, please thank you.

Are Japanese nationals allowed to vote in your country? This is the crux of the matter. You don't vote in Japan because Japanese citizens don't vote in yours. Plain and simple!