Japan Tightens Residency Rules, Hitting Hong Kong Migrants
AM730 · 1 SOURCESabout 12 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Japan is tightening entry, stay and permanent residency pathways for foreigners as nationalist sentiment rises and policymakers push a “Japan first” approach . The business manager visa has become far harder to obtain or renew, while parts of the foreign labor channel for the restaurant sector have also been frozen . Permanent residency rules are also set to become much stricter from April 2027, with higher income, pension, language and spousal residency requirements . For some Hong Kong families already living in Japan, the policy shift is translating into rejected renewals, forced business closures and possible return migration .
Key Points
- Japan raised the registered capital threshold for the business manager visa from 5 million yen to 30 million yen and now requires at least one full-time local employee .
- About 47,000 foreign business owners, including many running small restaurants across urban and rural Japan, are described as being exposed to severe pressure under the new rules .
- A Hong Kong couple in Okinawa who opened a photography company after moving there three years ago reportedly spent HK$3 million to HK$4 million on property and business investment, but had their renewal rejected for not hiring extra staff .
- Monthly applications for the business manager visa reportedly plunged from around 1,700 under the old system to just 70, a drop of 96 percent .
- Japan stopped accepting applications on April 13 for specified skilled worker visas in the restaurant industry after foreign staffing in the sector reached 46,000, close to the 50,000 quota cap .
Why It Matters
The policy tightening could reshape Japan’s appeal to Hong Kong migrants who had viewed the weak yen, entrepreneurship and work routes as realistic paths to relocation and eventual settlement . It also highlights Japan’s tension between labor shortages and a political climate increasingly skeptical of long-term foreign residence, with consequences for families, small businesses and the property market .