Data Section
トビラ
第１部 出入国在留管理をめぐる近年の状況

Data Section 1 Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and
Residency Management System
Data Section 2 Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement
Data Section 3 Budget, etc.
Data Section 4 Statistics

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Data Section 1

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

Data Section 1 Outline of Japan’s

Immigration Control and
Residency Management
SystemSection 1

Purpose and Legal Basis

Article 1 of the Immigration Control Act stipulates that “the purpose of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act is to provide for fair management over the entry and departure
procedures of all persons in Japan, residence of foreign nationals in Japan, as well as consolidate
the recognition procedures of the refugee status”.
The meaning of “fair management over the entry and departure procedures of all persons inJapan, residence of foreign nationals in Japan” is to achieve reasonable balance between smoothly
accepting foreign nationals and preventing the entry and stay of foreign nationals who are unwelcome in Japan. In order to achieve this purpose, on the one hand the Immigration Control Act
provides for a status of residence system to enable the smooth acceptance of foreign nationals
who have, for instance, advanced skills. On the other hand, the Immigration Control Act provides
for deportation procedures so as to strictly deal with foreign nationals who have committed
crimes in Japan.
According to the Act to Amend the Immigration Control Act enacted in April 2019, “fairmanagement over residence of foreign nationals in Japan” was added to the purpose of the abovementioned law. It was added in order to clearly express that not only immigration control but
also equitable control of the residence of foreign nationals residing in Japan is an important objective for us, because in addition to the growing number of foreign residents in recent years, theestablishment of status of residence “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” and “Specified Skilled Worker(ii)” have increased the importance of equitable control over residence of foreign nationals. Also,“to consolidate the recognition procedures of the refugee status” was added because Japan joined
the Refugee Convention in 1981 and the refugee recognition system was included in immigration
control and residency management administration.
Other major laws and regulations relating to the Immigration Control Act include, for example,
the Special Act on the Immigration Control stipulating the special rules under the Immigration
Control Act for special permanent residents; the Enforcement Order of the Immigration Control
Act and the Enforcement Order of the Special Act on the Immigration Control stipulating thestatutory administrative affairs entrusted to the local governments; the Regulation for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act and the Regulation for Enforcement of the Special Act on
the Immigration Control specifically defining the procedures for implementation of the Immigration Control Act and the Special Act on the Immigration Control; the Ministerial Ordinanceon Criteria stipulated taking possible effects on Japanese industry and people’s lives and othercircumstances into consideration.

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Section 2 Immigration Procedures for All Persons
１ Procedures for the Entry and Departure of Foreign Nationals（*1）
When a foreign national who does not have Japanese nationality (including statelessindividuals) wishes to enter Japan, he or she must, in principle, possess a valid passport witha visa (*2) obtained at a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad, apply for landing with an immigration inspector at the port of entry and departure (*3), and receive a seal of verification
for landing. Upon departure from Japan, the foreign national must receive confirmation of
departure.
As a result of the landing examination by an immigration inspector, any foreign national
who falls under any of the following cases will be denied permission to land in Japan: when
the foreign national’s passport or visa is found to be invalid such as being counterfeit or altered; when the activities declared in the application as the ones in which the foreign national
intends to engage while in Japan are found to be false; or when the foreign national falls
under any of the grounds for denial of landing enumerated in the Immigration Control Act(Article 5), such as having a past record of having been sentenced to a criminal punishment
owing to a violation of any law or regulation relating to the control of narcotics, marijuana,
opium, stimulants or psychotropic substances, for the purpose of prohibiting the landing of
foreign nationals who are unwelcome in Japan.
Other than these general immigration procedures for foreign nationals, the Immigration
Control Act also provides for a simplified system of landing permission known as “special
landing permission”(*4).

２ Procedures for Entry (Landing) Examinations of Foreign Nationals（*5）
The procedures for entry examinations of foreign nationals are structured as a three-stepexamination process so that the cases may be examined carefully and foreign nationals will
have a sufficient chance to assert and prove that they comply with the conditions for landing(Reference 84).

(*1) A foreign national is deemed to have “entered” Japan when he or she has entered the territorial sea or territorial
airspace of Japan, and to have “landed” in Japan when he or she has set foot on Japanese land. Therefore, thepermission for entry or stay given to foreign nationals as a result of the immigration examination at the port of entry
and departure is referred to as “landing permission”.
For a country which borders a neighboring country, “entry” means a foreign national has crossed the border andproceeded into the land territory of another country. In this case, it is not necessary to distinguish the concept of “entry”
from that of “landing”. However, since Japan is surrounded by sea, a distinction is made between the two terms.
(*2) A “visa” refers to a document that a Japanese consular officer issues under certain conditions to certify in a foreign
national’s passport, using a prescribed format, that the foreign national who seeks to land in Japan has a legitimate
reason and qualifications based on his or her application.
(*3) The “port of entry and departure” refers to certain seaports and airports where foreign nationals are allowed toenter into or depart from Japan (Article 2, item (viii) of the Immigration Control Act). Specific ports of entry anddeparture are stipulated in the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act. As of April 1, 2022, thenumber of ports of entry and departure was 127 seaports and 32 airports.
(*4) For special landing permission, see Subsection 4.
(*5) The “entry (landing) examination” by the immigration inspector and the “landing adjudication” after the hearing
are jointly called the entry (landing) examination procedures in the wide sense of the term.

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Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System(1) Entry (Landing) Examination
If a foreign national has applied for landing and such foreign national (excluding special
permanent residents) has fulfilled his or her obligation to submit biometric information(fingerprints and facial photographs) (Article 6, paragraph (3) of the Immigration ControlAct), the immigration inspector will examine whether such foreign national meets with theconditions for landing in Japan or not ((i) the foreign national possesses a valid passport;(ii) a valid visa is attached to the passport, except in cases where the foreign national iseligible for a visa waiver; (iii) the activities the foreign national has applied for is not false
and comes under one of the statuses of residence listed in one of the Appended Tables of
the Immigration Control Act, and moreover, with regard to certain statuses of residence,meets the landing permission criteria given in the Ordinance on Criteria; (iv) the period ofstay applied for conforms to the provisions of the Ordinance of the MOJ; and (v) the foreign
national does not fall under any of the grounds for denial of landing) (Article 7, paragraph (1)of the Immigration Control Act). When an immigration inspector finds that a foreign national
conforms to the above-mentioned conditions, the immigration inspector will determine astatus of residence and the period of stay, and affix a seal of verification for landing onto theforeign national’s passport (Article 9, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).
The provision of biometric information (fingerprints and a facial photograph) at the timeof the entry (landing) examination became mandatory through the 2006 amendment of the
Immigration Control Act (enforced on November 20, 2007).
(2) Hearing
If a foreign national, who has filed an application for landing, does not provide his or her
personal identification information to the immigration officer at the port of entry or departure, or is found, as a result of the landing examination by the immigration inspector, not to
conform to the conditions for landing, the case will be assigned to a special inquiry officer(*1),
who will hold a hearing (Article 7, paragraph (4), Article 9, paragraph (6), and Article 10,paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).
If the special inquiry officer finds, as a result of the hearing, that the foreign national
conforms to the conditions for landing (limited to cases where the foreign national is foundto come under foreign nationals who are exempt from the obligation of providing personal
identification information and cases where the foreign national provides his or her personal
identification information to the special inquiry officer with regard to cases assigned to thespecial inquiry officer owing to the foreign national refusing to provide his or her personal
identification information to the immigration inspector), the foreign national will immediately
be granted landing permission (Article 10, paragraphs (8) of the Immigration Control Act).
(3) Filing of an Objection
On the other hand, a foreign national who is found not to conform to the conditions forlanding may either accept the finding or file an objection. In the case of the former, theforeign national will be ordered to depart from Japan. In the latter case, the foreign national
may file an objection with the Minister of Justice within three days after receipt of the

(*1)

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A “special inquiry officer” refers to a senior immigration officer appointed by the Commissioner of the ISA, who isauthorized to hold hearings for landing examination procedures and deportation procedures.

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notice (*1) (Article 10, paragraphs (10) and (11), and Article 11, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).
If there is an objection from a foreign national who has been found not to conform to theconditions for landing by the special inquiry officer, the Minister of Justice will decide whether or not the objection is with reason, that is, whether the foreign national conforms to theconditions for landing. If a decision is reached that the objection is with reason, such foreign
national will immediately be granted permission for landing, and if a decision is reached thatthe objection is without reason, such foreign national will be ordered to depart from Japan(Article 11, paragraphs (3), (4) and (6) of the Immigration Control Act), but if the foreign
national who has been ordered to depart from Japan does not depart from Japan without
delay, the deportation procedure will be enforced (Article 24, item (v)-2 of the Immigration
Control Act).
Even if the Minister of Justice finds that the objection filed is without reason, if suchforeign national has been granted re-entry permission and entered Japan under the control
of another due to trafficking in persons or the Minister of Justice finds that circumstances
exist that warrant the granting of special permission for landing, the Minister of Justice may
grant such foreign national special permission for landing (the “special permission for landing” provided for in Article 12 of the Immigration Control Act).

(*1) There are no procedures for a decision by the Minister of Justice with regard to foreign nationals who do notprovide their personal identification information, and therefore, their deportation from Japan will be ordered at thehearing (Article 10, paragraph (7) of the Immigration Control Act).

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Reference 84

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

R e f e r e n c e 8 4 F l o w o f l an d i n g e x am i n at i o nFlow of landing examination

Foreign nationals who wish to enter Japan
Landing examination by an immigration inspector
Provision of Biometric information, or foreign national
coming under any of the items
in Article 6, paragraph (3)Conforming to theconditions for landing(including falling under
Article 5-2)

No provision of
Biometric information

Hearing for landing by a special inquiry officer(examination of conformity with any of the items
in Articl 6, paragraph (3))

Not conforming to theconditions for landing

Provision of Biometric information, or
foreign national coming under any items in
Article 6, paragraph (3)No provision of Biometric
information （no conformity
with any items in Article 6,paragraph (3)）

Hearing for landing by a special inquiry officer(Examination of conformity with the conditions for landing)

Not conforming to
the conditions for landing

Conforming to
the conditions for landing

No objection

Objection

Decision by the Minister of Justice(or by the Director-General of the Regional Immigration services Bureau））

With reason

Without reason

With reason topermit special landing

Landing permission

３

Without reasons topermit special landing

Special permission for landing

Expulsion Order

Pre-entry Examination(1) Advance Consultation for Issuance of Visas
Although the MOFA is the ministry, which has jurisdiction over the issuance of visas,since possessing a valid visa is one of the conditions for landing, the issuance of visas isstrongly tied to immigration control and residency management administration.
For this reason, the MOFA, which has jurisdiction over the issuance of visas and the
ISA, which has jurisdiction over immigration control and residency management, liaise andcoordinate over the entry of foreign nationals, and the MOFA consults with the ISA on theindividual visa applications where necessary. Accordingly, the ISA examines whether theactivities which the foreign national intends to engage in while in Japan conforms to one of
the statuses of residence described in the Appended Tables of the Immigration Control Act,

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thorough examining the submitted documents, and hearing about the circumstances froma representative of the organization in Japan that plans to accept the foreign national. In
addition, with regard to a foreign national who intends to engage in a particular activity, theISA examines whether the foreign national complies with each of the conditions for landing
stipulated in the Ministerial Ordinance on Criteria and subsequently provides an answer
to the MOFA as to whether or not it is appropriate to issue a visa to the foreign national(Reference 85-1).
(2) Certificate of Eligibility
In principle, a foreign national is required to obtain a visa at a Japanese embassy or consulate abroad before coming to Japan. The visa will not be issued unless the visa application
documents submitted abroad have been sent to Japan, examined in Japan, and an opinion has
been given to the embassy or consulate, except in cases where a visa may be issued solely
upon a decision made by the embassy or consulate abroad such as in cases relating to thestatus of residence of “Temporary Visitor”. For this reason, a considerable amount of time isrequired from the time of the application being submitted to the time of a visa being issued.
Therefore, in order to simplify and facilitate the entry examination procedures, a system ofcertificates of eligibility was established through the amendment of the Immigration Control
Act in 1990. When a foreign national him/herself or another agent, applies for a certificate
of eligibility for a status of residence (except for “Temporary Visitor” and “Permanent
Resident”) in Japan beforehand, the Director of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau
examines in advance whether the foreign national is eligible for the applied status of residence. When the foreign national intends to engage in specific activities, the Director of theRegional Immigration Services Bureau examines whether or not he or she meets the conditions for landing stipulated in the Ordinance on Criteria. If he or she is judged to be eligible
for the status of residence and meets the conditions for landing mentioned in Subsection 2 (1),the Director of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau issues a certificate of eligibility,
which will enable the foreign national to smoothly acquire a visa and permission for landing
through presenting the certificate (Article 7-2 of the Immigration Control Act).
This procedure enables the saving of time needed for the sending of documents, andalso enables speedy entry examination procedures, since all the procedures for pre-entry
examination are carried out in Japan, unlike the system of advance consultation for issuanceof visas (Reference 85-2).

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Reference 85 P
 rocedures for advance consultation for issuance of visas andapplications for certificates of eligibility
１

Advance consultation for issuance of a visa①
Application
for a visa

Foreignnational

Japanese
EmbassyorConsulate② Inquiry
Ministry ofForeign Affairs⑩ Issuance⑨ Instructionof a visa⑪ Application for landing verification⑧ Reply

Port of entry anddeparture③ Consultation

Immigration
Services Agency

Examination for landing verification○ Confirmation of validity of a passport
and a visa
○ Examination of fulfillment of theconditions of status of residence○ Determination of status of residence andperiod of stay

⑦ Inquiry④ InstructionforRegional
examination
Immigration
Services Bureau⑥ Presentationof evidence⑤ Request
to prove

Relations in
Japan

２

Application for a certificate of eligibility⑦
Application
for a visa

Foreignnational⑧ Issuanceof a visa

Japanese
Embassy or
consulate

Regional
Immigration
Services Bureau② Application for acertificate of eligibility④ Examination③ Presentation of the⑤ Issuance of aevidencecertificate of① Requesting to apply for a certificate
eligibilityof eligibility
Applicant in Japan(Representative)⑥ Sending a certificate of eligibility⑨ Application for landing verification
Port of entry anddeparture
Examination for landing verification○ Confirmation of validity of a passport and avisa○ In principle, a person who holds a certificate ofeligibility will not have to undergo examinationof the conditions of status of residence○ Determination of status of residence and periodof stay

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Special Landing Permission（*）
In addition to being in possession of a passport and visa, in principle, the foreign nationalmust meet the conditions for landing for the status of residence, and must have his or her
status of residence determined by the Japanese government before being able to land inJapan. The following cases are the exceptions to this principle, and allow foreign crew members and passengers of vessels and aircraft to land temporarily through simple procedures
provided that they meet particular requirements. The exceptions are intended to simplify thelanding procedures for foreign nationals who intend to stay in Japan for a short term (or fora short time), but in order to secure their appropriate stay through these simple procedures,
there are some restrictions, such as on the period of stay and area of movement.

(1) Permission for Landing at a Port of Call
This permission reduces the burden imposed on foreign passengers changing vessels inJapan to get to other countries. It allows a foreign national who is to proceed via Japan to anarea outside Japan to stay for a maximum of 72 hours in order to land temporarily for the
purpose of making purchases or resting at a place in the vicinity of the port of call (airport
or seaport). This permission will not be granted when Japan is the final destination and thevessel is not proceeding to a destination outside Japan (Article 14 of the Immigration Control
Act).
(2) Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists
This landing permission for cruise ship tourists is intended to offer increased convenienceto foreign passengers onboard cruise ships designated by the Commissioner of the ISA(designated passenger ships).
If a foreign national onboard a designated passenger ship wishes to land for the purposeof sightseeing, he or she will be granted landing permission within a period not exceeding
seven days or 30 days until the time of departure on the condition that such foreign national
returns to the ship before the designated passenger ship leaves the port (Article 14-2 of the
Immigration Control Act).
(3) Permission for Landing in Transit
This permission improves convenience for foreign passengers aboard a vessel and aircraft.
It allows a foreign national aboard a vessel calling at two or more ports of entry anddeparture to land temporarily for sightseeing purposes while the vessel is in Japan and toreturn to the vessel at another port of entry and departure at which the vessel is scheduled
to call within 15 days, or allows a foreign national on board a vessel or aircraft who plans
to proceed to an area outside Japan via Japan to make a transit stop and leave Japan fromanother port of entry and departure in the vicinity of the port at which he or she entered,within three days of his or her entry into Japan (Article 15 of the Immigration Control Act).
(4) Landing Permission for Crew Members
This permission improves convenience for foreign crew members. It allows a foreign crew
member aboard a vessel and aircraft to land temporarily at a port of call for the purpose of(*) For landing permission for temporary refuge, see Section 6, Subsection 4 below.

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Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management Systemtransferring to another vessel, making purchases or taking a rest within a limit of seven or
15 days.
For foreign crew members who frequently land at a Japanese port of entry and departure,
there is also a system of multiple landing permission for crew members (Article 16 of the
Immigration Control Act).
(5) Permission for Emergency Landing
The purpose of this provision is to respond quickly to emergency situations of foreign
passengers and crew members aboard a vessel or an aircraft. If such foreign nationals needto land in Japan urgently for medical treatment of a disease, injury or some other physicalailment, permission will be granted until the cause thereof ceases to exist (Article 17 of the
Immigration Control Act).
(6) Landing Permission Due to DistressThis permission was established for the purpose of promptly dealing with vessels that are
in distress. It is granted when it is necessary to carry out relief and protection of foreign
victims aboard a vessel or aircraft in distress or in the event of a forced landing within alimit of 30 days (Article 18 of the Immigration Control Act).

５

Procedures for the Departure and Return of Japanese Nationals
Immigration control and residency management administration is responsible for ensuring
equitable control of immigration for all people, so the Immigration Control Act also stipulates
the procedures departure and return of Japanese nationals.
If a Japanese national departs from Japan, his or her departure must be confirmed by animmigration inspector at the port of entry and departure. In addition, if a Japanese national
returns to Japan, his or her return must be confirmed by an immigration inspector (Article
60, 61 of the Immigration Control Act).

Section 3
１

Examination of the Status of Residenceof Foreign Nationals

Status of Residence System
In principle, foreign nationals who enter and reside as residents in Japan are required to
be granted a status of residence designated by the Immigration Control Act. The status ofresidence categorizes a wide range of activities of foreign nationals, and clarifies whether
they are permitted to enter and reside in Japan if they intend to engage in certain activities.
This scheme is called the status of residence system and it forms the foundation of the immigration control and residency management administration of Japan (Reference 86).
The statuses can be broadly divided into two categories:(i) Statuses of residence which focus on the authorized activities of the foreign national in
Japan (one of the statuses of residence in the left-hand column of the Appended Table I of
the Immigration Control Act (activity status))(ii) Statuses of residence which focus on the personal status or position of the foreign national

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Data Section(one of the statuses of residence in the left-hand column of the Appended Table II of the
Immigration Control Act (residency status))
The basis of the former is “what the foreign national does”, while that of the latter is “whatkind of status the foreign national has”.
In addition, as Japan adopts a policy of permitting foreign nationals who are to engage inoccupational activities utilizing their professional techniques, skills or knowledge to enter andstay in Japan, but does not to permit other foreign workers to enter and stay in Japan, thestatuses of residence which belong to the abovementioned category (i) are divided into thetwo subcategories of statuses of residence for which work activities are permitted (activities
to operate income-earning businesses or activities to receive remuneration), and statuses ofresidence for which work activities are not permitted.
Although the original purpose of the statuses of residence which belong to the abovementioned category (ii) is not work, it is possible to engage in a work activity because there are
no restrictions imposed what activities the foreign national does.
Furthermore, if an activity among the statuses of residence is likely to impact Japaneseindustry and people’s lives, the foreign national will not be permitted to enter Japan unlesssuch a foreign national meets the criteria for the landing permission stipulated by the Ministerial Ordinance on Criteria.

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Reference 86

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

List of Statuses of Residence (As of April 1, 2022)

Appended Table I(1)
Status of
Residence

Authorized activities

ExamplesPeriod of Stay

DiplomatActivities on the part of constituent members of diplomatic missions
or consular offices of foreign governments hosted by the Japanese
Government; activities on the part of those who are provided withsimilar privileges and/or immunities as are granted to diplomatic
missions pursuant to treaties or international customary practices; andactivities on the part of their family members belonging to the same
household.

Ambassador, minister, Period during which
diplomatic activities
consulate general, ordelegation member of are performed
a foreign government
and their families

Official

Activities on the part of those who engage in the official business offoreign governments or international organizations recognized by
the Japanese Government; and activities on the part of their family
members belonging to the same household (except for the activities
listed in the "Diplomat" column of this Table).

Employee of an embassy or consulate ofa foreign government,
individual assignedby an international
institution for an
official assignment,
and their families

Professor

Activities for research, guidance of research or education at a univer- College professor
sity, an equivalent educational institutions or colleges of technology(“Kotosenmongakko”).

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

ArtistArtistic activities that produce income, including music, the fine arts, Composer, artist, or
literature, etc.(except for the activities listed in the “Entertainer” writer
column in Table I (2)).

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Religious
Activities

Missionary and other religious activities conducted by foreign religious Missionary assigned
workers dispatched by a foreign religious organization.
by a foreign religiousorganization

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Journalist

News coverage and other journalistic activities conducted based on a Reporter or photogracontract with a foreign journalistic organization.
pher of foreign press

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

5 years, 3 years, 1
year, 3 months, 30days or 15 days

(2)
Status of
Residence

Authorized activities

Highly(i)SkilledActivities coming under any of the following items of “a” to “c”
Professional
conducted by a person who meets the criteria specified by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice as a human resource with advanced
highly-skilled capabilities, and who is expected to contribute to thedevelopment of academic research or the economy of Japan.
(a) Activities of engaging in research, research guidance or education
based on a contract entered into with a public or private organization in Japan designated by the Minister of Justice, or in conjunction
with such activities, activities of a business managed personally by
the highly-skilled professional associated with these activities or
activities of research, research guidance or education based on acontract entered into a public or private organization in Japan otherthan said organization.
(b) Activities of engaging in work requiring specialized knowledge
or skills in the field of natural sciences or humanities based on acontract entered into with a public or private organization in Japan
designated by the Minister of Justice, or in conjunction with suchactivities, activities of a business managed personally by the highlyskilled professional associated with these activities.
(c) Activities of engaging in the operation of international tradeor other business at a public or private organization in Japan
designated by the Minister of Justice or to manage said business or,in conjunction with such activities, activities of a business personallymanaged by the highly-skilled professional associated with these
activities.
(ii)
The following activities which meet the criteria specified by an
Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice where the residence of

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ExamplesPeriod of Stay

A foreign national
within the scopeeligible for the decision on a status forwork who has earned
points for each of theitems of “academic
background,” “professional career” and “annual salary”, etc. andwhose total numberof points reaches acertain score (70points).
(Example) A casewhere a 30 year-old(10 points), who has
acquired a master’s
degree (professional
degree on businessadministration(MBA)) from aforeign university (25points) with sevenyears’ IT-related
work experience(15 points), engages
in the work of thedevelopment of

5 years for HighlySkilled Professional(i) and unlimited forHighly-Skilled Professional (ii)

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the person engaging in the activities given in the previous item
contributes to the interests of Japan.
(a) Activities of engaging in research, research guidance or education
based on a contract entered into with a public or private organization in Japan.
(b) Activities of engaging in work requiring specialized knowledge
or skills in the field of natural sciences or humanities based on acontract entered into with a public or private organization in Japan.
(c) Activities of engaging in the operation of international trade orother business at a public or private organization in Japan or to
manage said business.
(d) Activities (except for the activities corresponding to any of (a)through to (c)) listed in the column from “Professor” to “Journalist”
as specified in Table I (1), or the activities listed in the column
corresponding to the sections of “Legal/Accounting Services”,“Medical Services”, “Instructor”, “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services”, “Entertainer” , the section of “Skilled Labor”
or the section of “Specified Skilled Worker (ii)” in this table inconjunction with any of the activities from (a) through to (c).
Business
Managermanagement support
software with anannual salary of 6 million yen (20 points).

Activities to engage in the operation of international trade or other Manager or operator
business in Japan or to manage said business (except for activities to of a company, etc.
engage in the operation or management of business which may not
be legally conducted without the qualification given in the column of“Legal/Accounting Services”).

5 years, 3 years, 1
year, 6 months, 4months or 3 months

Legal/
Activities to engage in legal or accounting business which may law- Attorney or certified
Accounting fully only be carried out by registered foreign lawyers (gaikokuhou- public accountant
Services
jimubengoshi), or certified public accountants (gaikokukoninkaikeishi)or those with other legal qualifications.

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Activities to engage in medical treatment services which may lawfully Physician, dentist or
only be undertaken by physicians, dentists or those with other legal registered nurse
qualifications.

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

MedicalServices

Data Section

Researcher Activities to engage in research based on a contract with a public or Researcher at a
5 years, 3 years, 1
private organization in Japan (except for the activities listed in the government-related
year or 3 months“Professor” column of Table I (1)).
institution or company
Instructor Activities to engage in language instruction or other education at an Language instructor
elementary school, junior high school, compulsory education school, at a high school orsenior high school, school for secondary education (chutokyoikugakko), junior high school
school for special needs education, vocational school (senshugakko),
miscellaneous category school(kakushugakko) or other educational
institution equivalent to a miscellaneous educational institution in
facilities and curriculum.

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Engineer/
Specialist in
Humanities/
International
Services

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Activities to engage in services which require specialized skills or
knowledge pertinent to the field of physical science, engineering orother natural science fields or to the field of jurisprudence, economics,sociology or other humanities fields or to engage in services which
require specific ways of thinking or sensitivity acquired through experience with a foreign culture (except for the activities listed in theright-hand column of the “Professor”, “Artist” and “Journalist” sectionsin Table (1), and the activities listed in the right-hand column of the“Business Manager” to “Instructor” sections, and the “Intra-company
Transferee” section in this Table) based on a contract entered intowith a public or private organization in Japan.

Engineers such as ofmechanical engineering, interpreters,
designers, language
teachers of privatecompanies, andemployees engaged in
the marketing field,
etc.

IntraActivities on the part of personnel who is transferred to a business Transferee from ancompany
office in Japan for a limited period of time from a business office estab- office abroad
Transferee lished in a foreign country by a public or private organization which
has head office, branch office or other business office in Japan, and who
engages in the activities listed in the "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" column of this Table at the business office.
NursingCare

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 3 months

Activities of a person qualified as a certified care worker to engage in Certified Care Worker 5 years, 3 years, 1
nursing care or the instructions of nursing care based on a contract
year or 3 months
with a public or private organization in JapanEntertainer Activities to engage in theatrical performances, musical performances, Actor, singer, dancer, 3 years, 1 year, 6
sports or any other show form of business (except for the activities or professional athlete months, 3 months orlisted in the “Business Manager” column of this Table).
15days175

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SkilledLabor

5 years, 3 years, 1
Activities to engage in services which require industrial techniques or Chef of foreign
skills belonging to special fields based on a contract with a public or cuisine, sports instruc- year or 3 months
tor, aircraft pilot, or
private organization in Japan.
craftsman of precious
metalsSpecified
SkilledWorker(i)
Activities to engage in work requiring skills that need a considerable
degree of knowledge or experience provided for in the applicable
Order for the Ministry of Justice belonging to a specified industrial
field (meaning the specified industrial field designated in the applicable Order of the Ministry of Justice where the securing of humanresources to supplement the shortage of labor by employing foreign
nationals is required due to difficulty in securing human resources;
hereinafter the same shall apply in the same item) designated by the
Minister of Justice based on a contract (limited to those conforming
to the provisions of Article 2-5, paragraph (1) through to paragraph(4); hereinafter the same shall apply in the following item) concerning
employment entered into with a public or private organization in
Japan designated by the Minister of Justice.
(ii)
Activities to engage in work requiring the proficient skills provided
for in the applicable Order for the Ministry of Justice belonging to a
specified industrial field designated by the Minister of Justice basedon a contract concerning employment entered into with a public or
private organization in Japan designated by the Minister of Justice.

Technical
InternTraining

Technical intern(i)trainees
Activities that fall under either of the following items (a) or (b)(a) Activities to attend lectures and engage in work pertaining toskills, technologies or knowledge (hereinafter referred to as “skills,
etc.”) based on the technical intern training plan (limited to thosepertaining to individual-enterprise-type technical intern training(i) provided for in Article 2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act
on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of TechnicalIntern Trainees (Act No. 89 of 2016; hereinafter referred to as“Technical Intern Training Act” ) ) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (1) of the Technical Intern Training Act, having received theaccreditation set forth under the same paragraph (if approval of thechange has been given in accordance with the provisions of Article
11, paragraph (1) of the Technical Intern Training Act, even after
such change; the same shall apply hereinafter).
(b) Activities to attend lectures and engage in work pertaining toskills, etc. based on the Technical intern training plan (limited tothose pertaining to supervising-organization-type technical interntraining (i) provided for in Article 2, paragraph (4), item (i) of theTechnical Intern Training Act) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph(1) of the Technical Intern Training Act, having received theaccreditation set forth under the same paragraph.
(ii)
Activities that fall under either of the following items (a) or (b)(a) Activities to engage in work requiring the skills, etc. based on
the technical intern training plan (limited to those pertaining toindividual-enterprise-type technical intern training (ii) provided forin Article 2, paragraph (2), item (ii) of the Technical Intern Training Act) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (1) of the TechnicalIntern Training Act,
having received the accreditation set forth
under the same paragraph.
(b) Activities to engage in work requiring the skills, etc. based on
the technical intern training plan (limited to those pertaining tosupervising-organization-type technical intern training (ii) provided
for in Article 2, paragraph (4), item (ii) of the Technical Intern
Training Act) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (1) of the Technical Intern Training Act, having received the accreditation set forth
under the same paragraph.
(iii)
Activities that fall under either of the following items (a) or (b)(a) Activities to engage in work requiring the skills, etc. based on
the technical intern training plan (limited to those pertaining toindividual-enterprise-type technical intern training (iii) provided
for in Article 2, paragraph (2), item (iii) of the Technical Intern
Training Act) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (1) of theTechnical Intern Training Act, having received the accreditation(i)
Foreign nationals
engaging in workrequiring skills which
need considerable
knowledge or experience belonging to
specified industrial
fields.
(ii)
Foreign nationals
engaging in workrequiring proficient
skills belonging to
specified industrial
fields.

(i)
1 year, 6 months or 4months(ii)
3 years, 1 year or 6months(i)
Period designatedindividually by the
Minister of Justice (1year or less)(ii) and (iii)
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set forth under the same paragraph.
(b) Activities to engage in work requiring the skills, etc. based on
the technical intern training plan (limited to those pertaining tosupervising-organization-type technical intern training (iii) provided
for in Article 2, paragraph (4), item (iii) of the Technical Intern
Training Act) prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (1) of the Technical Intern Training Act, having received the accreditation set forth
under the same paragraph.

(3)
Status of
Residence
CulturalActivities

Authorized activities

ExamplesAcademic or artistic activities that provide no income, or activities Researcher of Japaangaged in for the purpose of pursuing specific Japanese cultural or nese culture
artistic studies, or for the purpose of learning and acquiring Japaneseculture or arts under the guidance of experts (except for activities
listed in the columns from “Student” to “Trainee” in this Table I (4)).

Temporary Sightseeing, recreation, sports, visiting relatives, inspection tours, Tourist or conference
Visitorparticipating in lectures or meetings, business contact or other similar participant
activities during a short period of stay in Japan.

Period of Stay
3 years, 1 year, 6months or 3 months

90 days, 30 days, 15days or period of lessthan 15 days

(4)
Status of
Residence

Authorized activities

ExamplesPeriod of Stay

Student

Activities to receive education at a university, technical school(kotosenmongakko), senior high school (including the second half of acourse of study at a school for secondary education (chutokyoikugakko)), senior high school course of a school for special needs education(tokubetsushiengakko), junior high school (including the second halfof a course of a compulsory education school (gimukyoikugakko) andthe first half of a course of study at a school for secondary education(chutokyoikugakko)) or a junior high school course of a school for
special needs education (tokubetsushiengakko), elementary school(including the first half of a course of study in a compulsory education
school (gimukyoikugakko)) or an elementary school course of a schoolfor special needs education (tokubetsushiengakko), vocational school(senshugakko), miscellaneous category school (kakushugakko) or anequivalent educational institution in terms of facilities and organizationin Japan.

A university student,
a junior college
student, a student at acoleege of technology(kotosenmongakko),a senior high school
student, a junior highschool student or anelementary school
stusdent

Period designatedindividually by the
Minister of Justice (4years and 3 manths
or less)

Trainee

Activities to acquire skills at a public or a private organization in Trainee
Japan (except for the activities listed in the “Technical Intern Training (i)” column of Table I (2) and "Student" column of this Table).

Dependent Daily activities on the part of the spouse or unmarried minor supported by the foreign national staying in Japan with the status ofresidence referred to in the columns in Table I (1), (2) and (3) (except
for “Diplomat”, “Official”, “Specified Skilled Worker (limited to thosepertaining to “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” of Table I (2))”, “TechnicalIntern Training” and “Temporary Visitor”) or staying with the statusof residence of “Student” in this Table.

1 year, 6 months or 3
monthsSpouse or child who
is a dependant ofa residing foreign
national

Period designatedindividually by the
Minister of Justice (5years or less)ExamplesPeriod of Stay

(5)
Status of
Residence

Authorized activities

Designated Activities which are specifically designated by the Minister of Justice Domestic help for a
diplomat, individual
Activities for foreign individuals.
on a working holiday,or nurse and certified
caretaker candidates
under the Economic
Partnership Agreement

5 years, 3 years, 1
year, 6 months, 3months or a term
designated by the
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Appended Table Ⅱ
Status of
Residence

Personal Status or Position for Which Residence is Authorized

ExamplesPermanent Those who are permitted permanent residence by the Minister of Individual who is
Resident
Justice.
permitted permanent
residence by the
Minister of Justice(except for special
permanent residentsof the Special Act
on the Immigration
Control)
Spouse orChild ofJapanese
National

２

Unlimited

The spouses of Japanese nationals, those born as the children of Japa- Spouse or child of a
5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 6 months
nese nationals or children adopted by Japanese nationals pursuant to Japanese national, or
child adopted by athe provisions of Article 817-2 of the Civil Code (Law No.89 of 1896).
Japanese national inaccordance with theprovisions of Article
817-2 of the Civil CodeSpouse or The spouses of permanent residents, etc. or those born as the childrenChild ofof permanent residents, etc. in Japan and who have continued toPermanent reside in Japan.
Resident

LongTerm
Resident

Period of Stay

Spouse of a permanent resident orSpecial Permanent
Resident, or biologicalchild of a permanet
resident or Special
Permanent Resident
who was born andcontinues to reside inJapan

Those who are authorized to reside in Japan with a period of stay Refugees accepted fordesignated by the Minister of Justice in consideration of special third-country recircumstances.
settlement, Japanesedescent, etc.

5 years, 3 years, 1
year or 6 months

5 years, 3 years, 1
year, 6 months or aterm designated by
the Minister of Justice(5 years or less)

Examination of the Status of Residence
If a foreign national residing in Japan wishes to stay for a new purpose that differsfrom the initial purpose of residence or wishes to continue to stay in Japan even after the
expiration of the initial period of stay granted for his or her status of residence, he or she isrequired to file an application in accordance with the Immigration Control Act, and to obtain
permission. In detail, (1) permission for change of the status of residence; (2) permission forextension of the period of stay; (3) permission for permanent residence; (4) permission for
acquisition of a status of residence; (5) re-entry permission; and (6) permission to engage inan activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted; andthe task of making these decisions is called examination of the status of residence.
The permission of (1) to (4) is decided by the Minister of Justice (the Commissioner of
the ISA as commissioned by the Minister of Justice or the Director of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau as commissioned by the Commissioner of the ISA), and the permissionof (5) and (6) is decided by the Commissioner of the ISA (the Director of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau as commissioned by the Commissioner of the ISA) (Article 69-2of the Immigration Control Act).

(1) Permission for Change of Status of Residence
If a foreign national staying in Japan wishes to change the activities in which he or she
is to engage in Japan, he or she will need to apply for permission for change of the statusof residence before engaging in any new activities and obtain permission for a change to178

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the status of residence corresponding to the new activities (Article 20 of the Immigration
Control Act).
(2) Permission for Extension of the Period of Stay
If a foreign national residing in Japan wishes to continue to stay in Japan even after the
expiration of his or her period of stay without changing the status of residence currently
possessed by him or her, he or she will need to apply for permission to extend the period ofstay before the expiration of his or her period of stay and obtain permission for extension of
the period of stay (Article 21 of the Immigration Control Act).
(3) Permission for Permanent Residence
The status of permanent residence is granted when certain conditions are met by a foreign
national staying in Japan under some other status of residence, who applies for permanent
residence permission, or by a foreign national who applies to acquire permanent residence
due to birth or renouncement of Japanese nationality (Article 22 of the Immigration ControlAct)(*1,*2).
(4) Permission for Acquisition of a Status of Residence
If a foreign national who was born in Japan or renounced Japanese nationality to obtain aforeign nationality, or lost his or her status as a member of the United States armed forces
as defined in Article 1 of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement who is not required topossess any status of residence, seeks to continue to stay in Japan beyond 60 days, he or she
will need to apply for permission for acquisition of a status of residence within 30 days of the
day on which such grounds occurred and to obtain permission for acquisition of a status ofresidence (Article 22-2 of the Immigration Control Act).
(5) Re-entry Permission
If a foreign national residing in Japan seeks to temporarily depart from Japan and re-enter
Japan, he or she may depart from Japan and re-enter Japan with the status of residence andthe period of stay currently possessed by him or her, without taking other steps to apply fora new visa as long as he or she receives permission for re-entry in advance (Article 26 of
the Immigration Control Act).
In addition, from July 9, 2012, if a mid to long-term resident (see Section 4 Subsection 1
below) re-enters Japan within one year of departure in possession of a valid passport andresidence card, or if a special permanent resident re-enters Japan within two years of departure in possession of a valid passport and special permanent resident certificate, in principle,(*1) In order to receive permission for permanent residence, the following requirements must be met: (i) theapplicant’s behavior and conduct must be good; and (ii) the applicant must have sufficient assets or skills to makean independent living, and (iii) the permanent residence of the foreign national must be deemed to be in accordancewith the interests of Japan. However, a spouse or child of a Japanese national, a permanent resident or a special
permanent resident does not need to satisfy requirements (i) and (ii).
(*2) The ISA (formerly the Immigration Bureau) established its Guidelines for Contributions to Japan on March 31,
2005, and published them on the website of the ISA . In addition, the ISA has posted examples of the cases wherecontributions were recognized and permission for permanent residence was granted, as well as the cases wherepermission was not granted on its website. In addition, on March 31, 2006, the ISA laid down the “Guidelines on
Permission for Permanent Residence” and published general requirements relating to permission for permanent
residence as well as the standard relating to the length of residence.(https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/nyukan_nyukan62-1.html).

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he or she is not required to obtain permission for re-entry in advance (Article 26-2 of the
Immigration Control Act, Article 23 of the Special Act on the Immigration Control).
Moreover, from January 1, 2015, if a foreign national who entered Japan on being granted
the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor” re-enters Japan on a cruise ship (designatedpassenger ship) within 15 days of the departure of the designated passenger ship whoseroute takes it from Japan to another country and then back to Japan, he or she is not
required, in principle, to receive permission for re-entry (Article 26-3 of the Immigration
Control Act).
In addition, with regard to the Embarkation Cards for Foreign Nationals which previously
had to be submitted at the time of departure, since it is possible to confirm the identity of
the foreign national using the passport, etc. presented by the foreign national, a revision wasmade so that from April 1, 2016, the submission of the card is no longer required except forforeign nationals intending to re-enter the country, etc. (Article 27, etc. of the Regulation for
Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act).
(6) Permission to Engage in an Activity other than those Permitted by the
Status of Residence Previously Granted
A foreign national who is granted a status of residence according to the activities in which
he or she is engaged must receive permission to engage in an activity other than thosepermitted by the status of residence previously granted in advance if he or she wishes toengage in activities “related to the management of business involving income or activities forwhich he or she receives remuneration, which are not included in those activities under hisor her category of status of residence”. A typical example is that of an international student
who wishes to have a part-time job. The Minister of Justice will give permission to theextent that the extra activity does not interfere with the original activity that is the main
purpose of his or her residence (Article 19, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).
Since July 9, 2012, it has become possible for any person who has been granted the statusof residence of “Student” (except for foreign nationals who have been granted a period ofstay of three months and foreign nationals who entered Japan with re-entry permission) at
landing examination to apply for permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted immediately after the status is granted
to him or her on the spot.

３

System of Revocation of Status of Residence
The system of revocation of status of residence is the system under which the Minister ofJustice (or the Director of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau except for revocationof the status of permanent resident) may revoke the status of residence actually possessedby a foreign national, if he or she is suspected of falling under any of the grounds for revocation set forth under the Immigration Control Act (each item of paragraph (1) of Article 22-4of the Immigration Control Act), provided that it is deemed apparent after that he or she
falls under the statutory grounds for revocation the hearing process (Article 22-4, paragraph(2) of the Immigration Control Act)（Reference 87）.
The causes of revocation of the status of residence are as follows (the number in parentheses at the end of each sentence indicates the number of the item of paragraph (1) of
Article 22-4 of the Immigration Control Act).

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Data Section(i) Where a foreign national has misled the immigration inspector, by deceit or other wrongfulmeans, to believe that he or she does not fall under any of the items of Article 5, paragraph(1) of the Immigration Control Act and has received a seal of permission for landing or
permission (item (i)).
(ii) In addition to (i), where a foreign national has received a seal of permission for landing orother permission, by deceit or other wrongful means (item (ii)).
(iii) Cases where the applicant received a seal of permission for landing, etc. by submitting orpresenting a document other than those falling under (i) or (ii) (where the applicant has
not employed deceit or other wrongful means) where there is a false entry (including acertificate of eligibility or visa issued by submitting or presenting a document or drawing
with a false entry) (item (iii)).
(iv) Where a foreign national has obtained special permission to stay in Japan by deceit orother wrongful means (the cases which the foreign national him/herself has not conducteda deceit or other wrongful means) (item (iv)).
(v) Cases where a person residing with a status of residence listed in the left-hand column ofAppended Table 1 of the Immigration Control Act resides in Japan without engaging in theactivities corresponding to the status of residence previously granted and is moreover, residing in Japan engaging in or attempting to engage in other activities (provided, however, that
this shall exclude cases where there is a justifiable reason) (item (v)).
(vi) Where a foreign national staying in Japan with a status of residence listed in the left-handcolumn of Appended Table I of the Immigration Control Act has failed to continue to engage
in the activity corresponding to that status for three months (six months for “Highly-Skilled
Professional (ii)) or more (except for cases where the foreign national has a justifiablereason for not engaging in said activity) (item (vi)).
(vii) Where a foreign national staying in Japan with the status of residence of “Spouse or Childof Japanese National” (except for a child of a Japanese national or a child adopted by aJapanese national), or a foreign national staying in Japan with the status of residence of“Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” (except for a child of a permanent resident) has
failed to continue to engage in the activities as a spouse for six months or more (except forcases where the foreign national has a justifiable reason for not engaging in the activity)(item (vii)).
(viii) Where a foreign national who has newly become a mid to long-term resident by obtaining permission for landing or permission for change of the status of residence, etc. has failed
to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of his or her place of residence within 90 days of the
day on which he or she obtained the permission (except for cases where the person has ajustifiable reason for not giving notification of his or her place of residence) (item (viii)).
(ix) Where a mid to long-term resident has failed to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of hisor her new place of residence within 90 days from the day on which he or she moved out of
his or her former place of residence (except for case where the person has a justifiablereason for not giving notification of his or her new place of residence) (item (ix)).
(x) Where a mid to long-term resident has notified the Commissioner of the ISA of a false
address (item (x)).

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Reference 87 P
 rocedures for revocation of status of residence

Process for revocation of status of residence
Foreign national thought to meet grounds for revocation of status of residence

Investigation of facts by an immigration inspector
or an immigration control officer
If they do not respond to the hearing
without justifiable reason, their statusof residence may be revoked withouta hearing.

Hearing

Judgment by the Minister of Justice (*)*This includes Commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency andDirector of the Regional Immigration Services Bureau who have been delegated.

Status of residence
not revoked

Status of residence revoked

Applicable to (i)and (ii)

If there is reason to suspectthat they will flee

Deportation

Applies to (iii), (iv),(vi) to (v)Applies to (v)OtherGive period to leave the country(up to 30 days)
Does notleave Japanin specified
periodContinues
residence

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Residency Management System of Mid
to Long-Term Residents, etc.

１ Residency Management System of Mid to Long-Term Residents
The residency management system for mid to long-term residents is a system enabling
the Commissioner of the ISA to accurately and continuously keep track of the informationnecessary for the residency management of foreign nationals who are residing in Japan fora mid to long-term with a status of residence. Under this system, a residence card will be issued to mid to long-term residents accordance with the permission pertaining to the foreign
national’s status such as the permission for landing, permission for change of the status ofresidence and permission for extension of period of stay. Since important items of information kept by the Commissioner of the ISA are given on the residence card, notification of achange is required to be given in the event of a change arising in the described matters, andtherefore the latest information is reflected at all times on the card.
In addition, in order to accurately and continuously keep track of the information necessary for residency management, mid to long-term residents are required to give notificationof the organization of affiliation, etc. to which they belong, and notifications on information
are also accepted from the organization of affiliation of the mid to long-term resident.
In further detail, mid to long-term residents refer to foreign nationals who do not comeunder any of the following items (i) through (vi) (Article 19-3 of the Immigration Control
Act):(i) Persons granted permission to stay for three months or less,(ii) Persons granted the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor”,(iii) Persons granted the status of residence of “Diplomat” or “Official”,(iv) Persons recognized by the Ordinance of the MOJ as equivalent to the foreign nationals
mentioned above (i) to (iii) (specifically, the staff of the Japanese office of the Associationof Taiwan-Japan Relations (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan,etc.) and the Permanent General Mission of Palestine in Japan who have the status of residence of “Designated Activities”, and their families),(v) Special permanent residents,(vi) Persons with no status of residence.
(1) Residence Card
The residence card contains important information kept by the Commissioner of the ISA, such as the name, date of birth, sex, nationality/region, place of residence(*1), status ofresidence, period of stay, whether the holder is restrictions on employment or not (and for
those aged 16 or older, a facial image). As a measure to prevent forgery, the residence card
embeds an IC chip in which all or some of the matters described on the face of the card arerecorded (Article 19-4 of the Immigration Control Act).
(*1) The “place of residence” refers to the location of the principal residence in Japan and is recognized to be furnished
as a residence from its outside appearance and is expected to be used continuously to live, and moreover, even if theforeign national has a main residence for living overseas, is a concept representing a foundation for living in Japan.
On the other hand, “residential place” is the current location which means a temporary place of stay and which
is used as a broad concept including such places that cannot be recognized as a foundation for living in terms of
conventional wisdom such as roads or parks.

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Front of Residence Card

Back of Residence Card

(2) Notifications and Applications Relating to Residence Cards (Reference 88)
A. Notification of the Place of Residence(*1)(a) Notification of the Place of Residence After Newly Landing in Japan
A mid to long-term resident who possesses a residence card(*2) which was issued upon
newly obtaining a landing permit at the port of entry, or who is in possession of a passport
containing a statement to the effect that a residence card will be issued at a later date(hereinafter referred to as “residence card, etc.”) must notify the Commissioner of the ISA
of his or her place of residence by submitting a notification at the office of the municipality
where the place of residence is located, bringing his or her residence card, etc., within
14 days of the day of deciding on the place of residence (Article 19-7 of the Immigration
Control Act).
(b) Notification of the Place of Residence After a Change in the Status ofResidence and Other Related Matters
A foreign national who had not been previously a mid to long-term resident but newly
became a mid to long-term resident as a result of having obtained permission pertaining totheir stay in Japan, such as permission for change of the status of residence, permission forextension of the period of stay or permission for acquisition of a status of residence, must
notify the Commissioner of the ISA of his or her place of residence by submitting a notification at the office of the municipality where the place of residence is located, bringing his
or her residence card, within 14 days of the day of deciding on the place of residence (orfor a mid to long-term resident who had already decided on his or her place of residence,from the day on which he or she was granted permission) (Article 19-8 of the Immigration Control Act).
(c) Notification of a Change of Place of Residence
A mid to long-term resident who has changed his or her place of residence must notify
the Commissioner of the ISA of his or her new place of residence by submitting a notifica(*1) If a mid to long-term resident has submitted his or her residence card and submitted a notification of moving
in or a transfer of residence based on the Residential Basic Book Act, it is deemed that he or she submitted the“Notification of the Place of Residence” under the Immigration Control Act, and he or she is not required to givefurther notification of the place of residence.
(*2) As of October1, 2022, the seven airports where it will be possible to issue a residence card at the same as a newlanding permission will be New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu Centrair, Kansai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka airports.

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tion at the office of the municipality where the new place of residence is located, bringing
his or her residence card, etc., within 14 days of the day on which he or she moved into
the new place of residence (Article 19-9 of the Immigration Control Act).
B. Notification of a Change of an Item on the Residence Card
If a change occurs in the name, date of birth, sex or nationality/region, the mid to longterm resident is required to give notification of the change to the Commissioner of the ISA
through the Regional Immigration Services Bureau within 14 days of the occurrence of thechange (Article 19-10 of the Immigration Control Act).
C. Application to Extend the Valid Period of the Residence Card
Foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Permanent Resident” or “Highly-Skilled
Professional (ii)”, or mid to long-term residents whose residence card is due to expire on the
mid to long-term resident’s 16th birthday are required to submit an application for extensionof the period of validity of the residence card to the Commissioner of the ISA at the Regional
Immigration Services Bureau within the period for extension (the period from two months
before the expiration date of the residence card to the expiration date(if the expiration dateof the period of validity is the 16th birthday, the period from six months before the expiration date to the expiration date) (Article 19-11 of the Immigration Control Act).
If, however, it is difficult to apply for an extension of the valid period of the residence cardwithin the extension application period for any unavoidable causes, such as long-term medical treatment or a long-term overseas business trip, an application for extension of the valid
period of the residence card may be submitted even before the extension application period.
D. Application for Reissuance of a Residence Card Due to Loss or Other
CausesIf a mid to long-term resident is no longer in possession of a residence card due to loss,
theft, damage or some other causes, he or she is required to submit an application for reissuance of the residence card to the Commissioner of the ISA through the Regional Immigration Services Bureau within 14 days of becoming aware of such fact (if the foreign national
was away from Japan when he or she became aware of such fact, the first day of entry into
Japan following such discovery) (Article 19-12 of the Immigration Control Act).
E. Application for Reissuance of a Residence Card Due to Damage or Soiling,etc.
If the residence card in the possession of the foreign national has been substantially damaged or soiled, or the data in the IC chip of the residence card has been damaged, an application for reissuance of the residence card may be submitted to the Commissioner of the ISA
at the Regional Immigration Services Bureau. However, in cases where a foreign national hasreceived an order from the Commissioner of the ISA to file an application for reissuance ofa residence card because his or her residence card has been substantially damaged or soiled,or the data in the IC chip embedded in his or her residence card has been damaged, he or
she must file an application for reissuance of a residence card with the Commissioner of the
ISA at the Regional Immigration Services Bureau, within 14 days of the day of receiving theorder.
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is able to apply for reissuance even if the residence card has not been damaged or otherwise
soiled. The payment of a fee of 1,600 yen is required, in this case, for issuance of the residence card (Article 19-13 of the Immigration Control Act).
(3) ISA’s Seiji Search System
The name given in the residence card and the special permanent resident certificate, in
principle, should be given using the Roman letters, but in certain cases such as where arequest is made by the foreign national, the name may be indicated in kanji together with orin place of the Roman letters.
With regard to the indication of names using kanji characters in the residence card andthe special permanent resident certificate, in accordance with the Public Notice on the
Indication of Kanji Character Names in the Residence Cards and Other Certificates (MOJ
Public Notice No. 582 of 2011), the characters were specified as within the scope of seiji characters(*), while simplified characters (referring to Chinese simplified letters and Taiwanesetraditional letters which do not match the seiji characters) may be used by replacing themwith characters within the range of seiji characters.
Therefore, the ISA introduced “the ISA’s Seiji Search System”, which enables a simple
search of kanji names given in the residence card, etc. based on the character codes of simplified characters on July 1, 2013, and made it available for use on the ISA’s website (http://
lapse-immi.moj.go.jp:50122/).
(4) Notification Concerning the Organization of Affiliation or Concerning theSpouse (Reference 88)
A. Notification from a Mid to Long-Term Resident Concerning the Organization of Affiliation(a) Notification Concerning the Organization Where the Foreign National
is Engaging in Activities (public or private organizations in Japan atwhich the activities corresponding to the status of residence are carried out)
If a change occurs in the name or location of an organization where a mid to long-term
resident who is residing in Japan with the status of residence of “Professor”, “HighlySkilled Professional (i)-(c)”, “Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)” (in cases of engaging in theactivities listed in item (ii)-(c) of the right-hand column corresponding to “Highly-Skilled
Professional” as specified in the Appended Table I (2) of the Immigration Control Act),“Business Manager”, “Legal/Accounting Services”, “Medical Services”, “Instructor”, “Intracompany Transferee”, “Technical Intern Training”, “Student” or “Trainee”, is engaging in
activities or the organization where the mid to long-term resident is engaging activities is
extinguished or the mid to long-term resident leaves the employment of the organization
or moves to another organization, he or she is required to notify the Commissioner of the
ISA of such changes within 14 days (Article 19-16, item (i) of the Immigration Control
Act).

(*)

186

Refers to the Japanese character repertoire part of X0221 of the Industrial Standardization Act (Act No. 185 of
1949) (subset specifying the characters commonly used in Japan) and the kanji characters of the Appended Table Iof the MOJ Public Notice.

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Data Section(b) N otification Concerning the Contracting Organization (public or privateorganizations in Japan which are the other party to the contract)
If a change arises in the name or location of a contracting organization, the contracting
organization is extinguished, or the contract with the contracting organization ends or a
new contract is entered into, the mid to long-term resident residing in Japan with the status of residence of “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)”, “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)”,“Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)” (in cases of engaging in the activities listed in item (ii)-(a)or (b) of the right-hand column corresponding to “Highly-Skilled Professional” as specified
in the Appended Table I (2) of the Immigration Control Act), “Researcher”, “Engineer/
Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, “Nursing Care”, “Entertainer” (limited tocases where the foreign national is engaging in activities based on a contract with a public
or private organization in Japan) , “Skilled Labor” or “Specified Skilled Worker” is required
to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of such changes within 14 days (Article 19-16, item(ii) of the Immigration Control Act).
(c) Notification Concerning the Spouse of the Foreign National
If a mid to long-term resident residing in Japan with the status of residence of “Dependent”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” or “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”,
who has the status of a spouse, is separated from his or her spouse due to divorce ordeath, he or she is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of such changes within
14 days (Article 19-16, item (iii) of the Immigration Control Act).
B. Notification Concerning Mid to Long-Term Residents to be Given by theOrganization of Affiliation
Public and private organizations in Japan (except for those employers who are required
to notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in accordance with the provisionsof paragraph (1) of Article 28 of the Revised Employment Measures Act), which accept
mid to long-term residents residing with the status of residence of “Professor”, “HighlySkilled Professional”, “Business Manager”, “Legal/Accounting Services”, “Medical Services”,“Researcher”, “Instructor”, “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”, “Intracompany Transferee”, “Nursing Care”, “Entertainer”, “Skilled Labor”, “Student” or “Trainee”
are required to endeavor to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of the commencement andend of the acceptance of the mid to long-term resident and other matters relating to thestatus of acceptance (Article 19-17 of the Immigration Control Act).

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Reference 88 P
 rocedural flow of the residency management system of mid to longterm residents

At ports of entry
Application for landing
A passport is given a seal of permission to landing and a person who has become
a mid to long-term resident by landing permission is issued with a residence card.
• A residence card will be issued at the time of issuance of the seal of verification for landing at New
Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu Centrair, Kansai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. With regard to other airports
and seaports, the residence card will be mailed to the mid to long-term resident after he/she has filed anotification of his/her place of residence.

At municipal offices
Notification of (a change of) place of residence

At regional immigration services offices
Notification of a change of name, date of birth, sex, or nationality/region
Application to extend the valid period of the residence card
（ “Permanent Resident”, “Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)” andthose less than 16 years old））

Application for reissuance of a residence card
（In cases where the residence card is lost, stolen, severely damaged or defaced ）Notification concerning the organization of affiliation or the spouse（Those residing with a working status or a study status such as that of“Student” or a spouse status））
The notification concerning the organization of affiliation or the spouse may be made throughthe Internet.

Application for permission for extension of the period of stay, etc
Mid to long-term residents will be issued with a residence card whengranted permission for extension of the period of stay, permission for achange of status of residence, etc.

C. Notifications to be submitted by the organization of affiliation of specified
skilled workers (public or private organizations in Japan that accept foreign nationals residing with the status of residence of “Specified Skilled
Worker (i)” or “Specified Skilled Worker (ii)”)(a) Irregular notifications
In cases where the organization of affiliation of specified skilled workers changes or terminates the contract for employment of specified skilled workers or enters into a new procedural flow of the residency management system of mid to long-term residents contract
for specified skilled workers, changes the contract for support of foreign nationals with188

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the status of residence of “Specified Skilled Worker (i)”, enters into a contract entrusting
all of the support plans for foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Specified
Skilled Worker (i)” to a registered support organization (described later) or changes or
terminates such contract or it has become difficult to accept specified skilled workers or it
has become aware of misconduct, it is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of
the reason thereof within 14 days (Article 19-18, paragraph(1) of the Immigration Control
Act).
(b) Regular notifications
The organization of affiliation of specified skilled workers is required to notify theCommissioner of the ISA of the matters relating to the situation of acceptance of specified
skilled workers, the matters relating to the situation of implementation of the support
plans for foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Specified Skilled Worker (i)”and the matter relating to the situation of activities once every quarter within 14 daysof the first day of the following quarter (Article 19-18, paragraph (2) of the Immigration
Control Act).
D. Notifications to be submitted by the registered support organization (aperson who has registered as a person to perform all of the work of implementation of the support plans for foreign nationals with the status ofresidence of “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” having been entrusted througha contract)(a) Irregular notifications
The registered support organization is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISAof the reason thereof within 14 days if any changes are made to its name or address, thename of the representative in the case of a juridical person, the location of the businessoffice that performs the support services, the content of the support services, and implementation method, etc. or if the support services have been suspended or abolished. Also,
it is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of the reason thereof in advance if
the suspended support services are to be resumed (Article 19-27, paragraph (1), Article
19-29, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act; Article 19-23, paragraph (2) of theOrdinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act).
(b) Regular notifications
The registered support organization is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISAof the situation of implementation of the support services, etc. once every quarter within
14 days of the first day of the following quarter (Article 19-30, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).
(5) Immigration Services Agency’s Electronic Notification System
The “Notification Concerning the Organization of Affiliation or Concerning the Spouse”(items of Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control Act) to be made by the mid to longterm resident, the “Notification by the Organization of Affiliation” (Article 19-17 of the
Immigration Control Act) to be made by the organization of affiliation accepting the mid tolong-term resident , “Notifications by an Organization of Affiliation of the Specified Skilled
Worker” (Article 19-18 of the Immigration Control Act), “Notifications to be submitted by

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the registered support organization” (Article 19-27, paragraph (1), Article 19-29, paragraph(1) , Article 19-30, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act ; Article 19-23, paragraph(2) of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act) and “Reports related
to notification standards for Japanese language institutions” (Article 1, Paragraph (1), item
(xxx Ⅷ ) (xxx ⅸ ) (xxxx ⅳ ) (xxxxⅴ)and (xxxx ⅵ ) of the public notice criteria for theJapanese language education institutions) may be submitted directly to the Regional Immigration Services Bureau at the office or by mail, but in addition, it became possible to submit
a notification via the Internet using the “Immigration Services Agency Electronic Notification
System”(https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/materials/i-ens_index.html).
Mid to long-term residents and the staff of the organizations of affiliation are able to accessthe electronic notification system using their own Internet environment and to make a notification and report by entering the necessary items. Furthermore, since this administrative
services system is one which connects to outside users via the Internet, for the convenienceof the user, a part of the screen is displayed in a variety of languages (Japanese, English,
Chinese (simplified characters and traditional characters), Korean, Spanish, Portuguese andTagalog).
Advantages of “the Immigration Services Agency’s Electronic Notification System” are as
follows.
(i) Foreign nationals do not have to go to the counter, but are able to make a notification using
the Internet from their home or office and check the status of their notification.
(ii) The use of the system is free of charge.
(iii) A notification may be made 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
(iv) Omissions of details will be checked automatically.
(v) A bundled notification and report may be made for notifications and reports by the organization of affiliation, the specified skilled worker’s affiliate organization, registered support
organization and the Japanese Language Education Institutions through use of the prescribed
format.
The organization of affiliation which has registered the organization’s user information(*)
for using “the Immigration Services Agency’s Electronic Notification System” will be able
to make a notification of a change in the name of the organization of affiliation or a change
in the location in accordance with the provisions of Article 19-16 of the Immigration Control
Act through use of the electronic notification system, upon a request being made by a mid tolong-term resident who has also registered his or her user information, in place of such mid
to long-term resident.
(6) Inquiry into the Facts
The Commissioner of the ISA shall organize information relating to mid to long-term
residents acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration Control Act andother laws and shall keep the contents of the information accurate and up-to date in order to

(*)

190

User information will have to be registered in order for a foreign national to be able to use “the Immigration
Services Agency’s Electronic Notification System”. Mid to long-term residents will be able to acquire a user ID andpassword in order to log onto the system by entering and registering their identification details directly into theelectronic notification system using their own Internet environment. In addition, by mailing or bringing an applicationof user information registration to the Regional Immigration Services Bureau with jurisdiction over the location of
the organization of affiliation, the staff of the organization of affiliation will be able to obtain a user ID and password
to log onto the system.

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continuously keep track of the family relationships, residence-related matters and status ofactivities of the mid to long-term residents, etc., under the residency management system of
mid to long-term residents. Therefore, the Commissioner of the ISA may, when necessary tocontinuously keep track of information relating to mid to long term residents, have his or her
officers(*)conduct an inquiry into the facts (Article 19-37 of the Immigration Control Act).
The inquiry into the facts provided for in Article 19-37 of the Immigration Control Act
may be exercised within the extent necessary for the Commissioner of the ISA to be able
to accurately keep track of the information necessary for the residency management of mid
to long-term residents while bearing in mind the demands for protection of the personal
information of mid to long-term residents such as restricting the scope of the investigation to
the items of notification.
The inquiry of the facts uncovers imposter residents through the compilation and analysisof the information on the Notified Foreign National Employment Status provided by the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, etc. in addition to information reported by both mid
to long-term residents and the organizations of affiliation and has led to effective countermeasures against imposter residents.

２

The System of Special Permanent Residents
Persons who lost Japanese nationality at the time of effectuation of the Treaty of Peacewith Japan but have been residing in Japan since before September 2, 1945 and persons who
were born in Japan as their lineal descendants and have continued to reside in Japan are
permitted to reside permanently in Japan as special permanent residents pursuant to theprovisions of the Special Act on the Immigration Control, and special cases are permitted in
the Immigration Control Act regarding the period of validity of the re-entry permission andthe grounds for deportation.

(1) Special Permanent Resident Certificate
The special permanent resident certificate is issued by the Commissioner of the ISA as acertificate to prove the foreign national’s legal status as a special permanent resident, andthe details to be described are restricted to the required minimum of the name, date ofbirth, sex, nationality/region, place of residence, number of the special permanent resident
certificate, date of issuance and the expiration date of the period of validity (a facial photowill be given in the case of foreign nationals who are 16 years of age or above). In addition,an IC chip on which all or some of the matters described in the certificate are recorded isembedded in the special permanent resident certificate in order to prevent forgery (Article
8 of the Special Act on the Immigration Control).

(*)“His or her officers” includes immigration inspectors, immigration control officers and other officers of the MOJ.
However, the officers who are able to request the appearance of relevant persons and question them or who
may request the presentation of documents are the immigration inspectors and the immigration control officers(Article19-37, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act), and the officers who are able to request necessary
reports by making inquiries to public offices or private organizations are the Commissioner of the ISA , immigration
inspectors and immigration control officers (paragraph (3) of the same Article).

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Front of Special permanent resident
certificate

Back of Special permanent resident
certificate(2) Notifications and Applications Relating to Special Permanent Resident
Certificates
A. Notifications of the Place of Residence (*)
If a special permanent resident who has been issued with a special permanent resident
certificate which does not describe the place of residence changes his or her place of residence, he or she is required to notify the Commissioner of the ISA of the place of residence
upon submitting his or her special permanent resident certificate to the counter of the officeof municipality with jurisdiction over the place of residence (if he or she has changed theplace of the residence, the new one) within 14 days of the date of establishing the new placeof residence (Article 10 of the Special Act on the Immigration Control).
B. Notification of a Change of an Item on the Special Permanent Resident
Certificate Other Than the Place of Residence
If a change has arisen in the name, date of birth, sex or nationality/region, the special
permanent resident is required to submit a notification of the change to the Commissioner of
the ISA at the counter of the municipality with jurisdiction over the residential place within
14 days of the occurrence of the change (Article 11 of the Special Act on the Immigration
Control).
C. Application to Extend the Valid Period of the Special Permanent Resident
Certificate
The special permanent resident is required to submit an application for extension of thevalid period of the special permanent resident certificate to the Commissioner of the ISA atthe counter of the office of municipality with jurisdiction over the residential place within theapplication period (from two months (six months if the valid period is until the 16th birthday) prior to the expiry date of the valid period of the special permanent resident certificate
until the expiry date of the valid period of the special permanent resident certificate) until
the expiry date of the valid period.
If, however, it is difficult to apply for an extension of the valid period of the residence
(*)

192

If a special permanent resident has submitted a notification of moving in or a notification of transfer of residence
pursuant to the Residential Basic Book Act, it is deemed that he or she submitted the “Notification of the place ofresidence” under the Special Act on the Immigration Control, and he or she is not required to give further notificationof the place of residence.

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card within the extension application period for any unavoidable causes, such as long-term
medical treatment or a long-term overseas business trip, an application for extension of thevalid period of the special permanent resident certificate may be submitted even before theextension application period (Article 12 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).
D. Application for Reissuance of a Special Permanent Resident Certificate
Due to Loss or Other Causes
If the special permanent resident is no longer in possession of the special permanent
resident certificate due to loss, theft, destruction or some other causes, he or she is required
to submit an application for reissuance of the special permanent resident certificate to theCommissioner of the ISA at the counter of the office of municipality with jurisdiction over
the residential place within 14 days of becoming aware of such fact (if the foreign national
was away from Japan when he or she became aware of such fact, the first day of entry into
Japan following such discovery.) (Article 13 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).
E. Application for Reissuance of a Special Permanent Resident Certificate
Due to Damage or Soiling, etc.
If the special permanent resident certificate has been substantially damaged or soiled, or
the data in the IC chip of the special permanent resident certificate have been damaged,
the special permanent resident may submit an application for reissuance of the special
permanent resident certificate to the Commissioner of the ISA at the counter of the office ofmunicipality with jurisdiction over the residential place.
If the special permanent resident receives an order on an application for reissuance of thespecial permanent resident certificate from the Commissioner of the ISA owing to the special permanent resident certificate being substantially damaged or soiled, or the data in the
IC chip of the special permanent resident certificate being damaged, he or she is required
to submit an application for reissuance of the special permanent resident certificate to theCommissioner of the ISA at the counter of the office of municipality with jurisdiction over
the residential place within 14 days of receiving such an order.
Moreover, if the special permanent resident wishes to exchange the special permanent
resident certificate, he or she may submit an application for reissuance even if the special
permanent resident certificate has not been damaged or otherwise soiled. The payment ofa fee of 1,600 yen is required, in this case, for issuance of the special permanent resident
certificate (Article 14 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).

３

Information Linkage Between the ISA and the Municipalities
On July 9, 2012, the Alien Registration Act was abolished and, at the same time, the Act
for Partial Amendment (Act No.77 of 2009) of the Residential Basic Book Act (Act No.81 of
1967; hereinafter referred to as “Residential Basic Book Act”) entered into force. Correspondingly, the Residential Basic Book Act came to be applied to foreign residents, and residence
certificates are to be prepared for the foreign residents in the same manner as for Japanese
residents by the office of municipality with jurisdiction over the residence of the foreign
resident.
In order for the ISA to be able to continuously keep track of the information necessary
for fair residence management and for the municipal governments to be able to ensure that193

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the records of the Residential Basic Books are accurate, linkage of information to be shared
between them is carried out by using special-purpose terminals.
Specifically, if a change arises or an error comes to light in the prescribed items such as
the matters of identification or status of residence with regard to a foreign resident, the ISA
notifies the mayor of the municipality which is keeping the Residential Basic Books in which
the foreign resident is recorded to such effect without delay, and if an entry, deletion orrevision of a described matter is made in the residential certificate pertaining to the foreign
resident, the municipality immediately notifies the Commissioner of the ISA to such effect(Reference 89).
Reference 89

Information Linkage between the ISA and the Municipalities② Notification of the following matters to the Immigration Services Agency by the municipalities- Events (transfer, moving in, moving out, birth, disappearance, revocation of a declaration of a disappearance, death, acquisition ofnationality, naturalization, loss of nationality, etc.)- Date of the occurrence of the event- Identification matters (name, date of birth, sex, place of residence, address before the move, nationality/region, classification listed
in the left-hand column of the table of Article 30-45 of the Residential Basic Book Act, number of the resident card, etc., points ofentries/deletions/revisions, basis in law, notification date, descriptions ex officio, processing date, etc.

① Notification of theplace of residence or(Enter) descriptions,deletions and revisions
in the residence
certificate of foreign
residents

Municipal notifications ・ Municipal communication③ Keeps track of the foreign
residents who are the subjectsof the notifications and themunicipalities which are toreceive the notifications

Local Government Wide Area Network(LGWAN)

Information linkage
terminal

Immigration Services Agency notifications⑤ Notification of the following matters by the Immigration Services Agency to the municipalities⑥ Reflected in theresidence certificate offoreign residents

194- Events (issuance of a residence card, permission to change the status of residence, permission to extend the period of stay,
permission for permanent residence, special permission to stay, permission for special permanent residence, permission for acquisition of astatus of residence, issuance of a special permanent resident certificate, change in the name, date of birth, sex or nationality/ region,
departure from Japan, expiry of the re-entry permit, issuance of a deportation order, revocation of a status of residence, elapse of the periodof stay, elapse of 60 days without having a status of residence, etc.)- Date of the occurrence of the event- Identification matters (name, date of birth, sex, address, nationality/region, status of residence, period of stay, expiry date of theperiod of stay, etc., to the effect of being a mid to long-term resident, special permanent resident or elapsed period resident throughbirth, number of the resident card (special permanent resident certificate), etc.)

Servers for linkage with themunicipalities④ Notifications on changes in
the name, date of birth, sex,
nationality/region, permission tochange the status of residence
and permission for extension of
the period of stay

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Deportation Procedures for Foreign
Nationals

In immigration control and residency management administration, it is necessary to achievea balance so as to promote the smooth acceptance of foreign nationals on the one hand, and tomaintain security and order in Japanese society by removing unwelcome foreign nationals fromJapan on the other.
The deportation procedures for foreign nationals constitute a powerful administrative action
where the foreign national is deported even if deportation is against the foreign nationals will.
In international customary law, deportation is left to the discretion of the State. In Japan, thegrounds for deportation and the deportation procedures are provided for in the Immigration
Control Act and deportation is implemented on the basis of these provisions.
Deportation procedures begin with an immigration control officer conducting an investigation,and is composed of three steps: namely, an examination by an immigration inspector, a hearing
by a special inquiry officer, and a decision rendered by the Minister of Justice for the objection
filed by the foreign national in order to ensure that the foreign national who is undergoing thedeportation procedures will be given ample opportunity to contest the facts of the case or to assert his or her side as to why he or she should be permitted to stay, and to ensure that a decision
is made after a careful examination of the facts (Reference 90).

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Reference 90

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

Flow of deportation procedures and departure order procedures

Foreign nationals who may fall under the grounds for deportation

Investigation into violations by an immigration control officer

Possibly subject to the

Not suspected

Suspected

departure order system
Detention

Sent back toimmigration control

Sent toofficers

an immigration inspector

Delivery to

Sent toan immigration inspector

an immigration inspector

Examination of violations by an immigration inspector
Examination of violations
by an immigration inspector

Identified as eligible for

Identified asa departure order

not being eligible for a

Possibly not

Identified as

Possibly subject

subject toeligible for a

to deportation

deportation

departure order
Hearing requested

Right toby the suspectdeparture orderhearing
waived by thesuspect

Hearing for deportation by a special
inquiry officer
No detention
Found that there is an error

Found that there isin the findings

no error in the findings

Identified as

Identified as

not coming under aeligible for aviolation

departure order
Objection filed by

Right tothe suspect

fileobjection
waived by

Decision by the Minister of Justice

the suspect
With reason

Notification to asupervising

Without reason

Identified as not coming

Identified as eligible for aunder a violation

departure orderimmigration
inspector

With reason to

Without reason

Issuance of written

permit special

to permit special

departure order

stay in Japan

stay in Japan

Continuous stayDeparture

ReleaseSpecial permission

Issuance of（continuous stay）

to stay in Japan

written deportation order
Deportation

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Investigation into Violations by an Immigration Control Officer
An investigation into the violation by an immigration control officer is the first step in thedeportation procedures for foreign nationals. As stipulated in Article 27 of the Immigration
Control Act, an immigration control officer will conduct an investigation into the violation of
a foreign national who is thought to come under one of the ground for deportation stipulated
in each item of Article 24 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as “suspect”). If the immigration control officer determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the suspect falls
under one of the grounds, he or she may detain the suspect in accordance with a written
detention order issued by a supervising immigration inspector (*) following which the suspect
will be handed over to an immigration inspector (Article 39 and Article 44 of the Immigration Control Act).

２ Examination of Violations by an Immigration Inspector/Hearing by a Special Inquiry Officer
An immigration inspector, on receiving the delivery of the suspect and the case, examines whether the case falls under one of the grounds for deportation (examination of theviolations provided for in Article 45, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).If theimmigration inspector finds that a person is subject to deportation, the suspect who has
an objection to such findings may request a hearing by a special inquiry officer (Article
48, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).In addition, if the special inquiry officer
judges that the above findings are correct, the suspect who has an objection to the judgment
may file an objection with the Minister of Justice (Article 49, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).

３

Determinations by the Minister of Justice
The Minister of Justice makes a decision as to whether or not the objection is with reasonable grounds after receiving it (Article 49, paragraph (3) of the Immigration Control Act).

４

Grant or Denial of Permission for Residence(1) Denial of Permission for Residence (Deportation)
As the result of the procedures from examination of the violation to the final decision of
the Minister of Justice (violation adjudication), a supervising immigration inspector will issue
a written deportation order in case below:(i) Where the immigration inspector found that the foreign national had fallen under one of
the grounds for deportation, and the foreign national has submitted to the findings (Article
45, paragraph (1) and Article 47, paragraph (5) of the Immigration Control Act).
(ii) Where a foreign national, who was found to have fallen under one of the grounds for deportation, objected to the findings and requested a hearing by a special inquiry officer and,as a result of the hearing, the special inquiry officer found that there was no error in thefindings, and the foreign national submitted to the findings (Article 48, paragraphs (1) and(*) This refers to a senior immigration inspector designated by the Commissioner of the ISA, who has the authority toissue a written detention order or written deportation order, provisional release or revocation thereof.

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Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System(9) of the Immigration Control Act).
(iii) If a foreign national who has an objection to the result of the hearing files an objection
with the Minister of Justice, and as a result, it is determined that the objection is without
reason (Article 49, paragraphs (1) and (6) of the Immigration Control Act).
In the violation adjudication procedures, if a foreign national is found not to fall under
one of the grounds for deportation, the foreign national will be released immediately. And
if a foreign national is found to fall under one of the grounds for deportation but satisfies
the requirements for a departure order, the foreign national will be released immediately
after the foreign national has been ordered to depart from Japan.
(2) Special Cases of Determinations by the Minister of Justice (Special Permission to Stay in Japan)
Even if the Minister of Justice finds that the objection filed is without reason in the determination on the objection, the Minister of Justice may grant special permission to stay to theforeign national if such foreign national has obtained permission for permanent residence; theperson once had a registered domicile in Japan as a Japanese national in the past; the person
is residing in Japan under the control of another person due to trafficking in persons; or the
Minister of Justice otherwise finds circumstances warranting the granting of special permission to stay (“Special Permission to Stay” as provided for in Article 50, paragraph (1) of the
Immigration Control Act).

５

Departure Order System
The departure order system is a system under which a foreign national in violation of
the Immigration Control Act who has illegally stayed beyond the authorized period ofstay (*) may be deported from Japan through simplified procedures without being physicallydetained, provided that he or she satisfies certain requirements; and moreover, the period of
denial of entry of a foreign national who has been deported from Japan under the departureorder is one year.
A foreign national who has stayed in Japan beyond the authorized period of stay and who
also satisfies all of the following requirements may be ordered to depart from Japan (Article
24-3 of the Immigration Control Act):(i) The foreign national has surrendered at the immigration services office voluntarily(ii) The foreign national does not fall under any of the grounds for deportation other thanoverstaying the authorized period of stay.
(iii) The foreign national has not been sentenced to imprisonment with or without work on
the charge of theft or other prescribed crimes after entering Japan.
(iv) The foreign national has neither past record of deportation, nor that of departure by a
departure order.
(v) The foreign national is expected with certainty to depart from Japan immediately.

(*)

198

Including “foreign nationals in violation of the condition of return to the ship in the landing permission for cruise
ship tourists”.

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Section 6 Refugee Recognition Procedures
１

Accession of the Refugee Convention
Japan accessed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (“Refugee Convention”)
on October 3, 1981 and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (“Protocol”) on
January 1, 1982, and accordingly established the system required for the refugee recognition
procedures.
The Refugee Convention and the Protocol provide for the definition of refugees, and stipulate the rights and protection to be granted to refugees by the contracting countries.

２

Refugee Recognition Procedures（Reference 91）(1) Definitions
Under the Japanese refugee recognition procedures, a “refugee” refers to a refugee as
defined in Article 1 of the Refugee Convention or in Article 1 of the Protocol (Article 2, item(iii)-2 of the Immigration Control Act). Generally, a refugee is defined as a person who is
outside the country of his or her nationality owing to a well-founded fear of being persecutedfor reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or politicalopinion and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of theprotection of that country.
(2) Permission for Provisional Stay
When a foreign national without a status of residence such as a person who has illegally
stayed beyond the authorized period of stay applies for refugee recognition, for the purposeof stabilizing his or her legal status, he or she is permitted to provisionally stay in Japan if heor she meets certain requirements (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (1) of the Immigration ControlAct), and the deportation procedures are suspended during the period of the permission forprovisional stay (Article 61-2-6, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).
The period of provisional stay is, in principle, six months (Article 56-2, paragraph (2) of
the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act) and, if an application forextension is filed prior to the expiration of the period of the provisional stay, that period will
be extended (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (4) of the Immigration Control Act). However, various conditions will be imposed on the permission for provisional stay, such as restrictions on
the domicile and scope of activity and a ban on working (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (3) of the
Immigration Control Act and Article 56-2, paragraph (3) of the Ordinance for Enforcementof the Immigration Control Act).
If a foreign national without a status of residence is not permitted to provisionally stay inJapan, the procedures for recognition of refugee status and the procedures for deportation
will be taken in tandem. However, deportation will be suspended while the application forrecognition of refugee status is being processed (Article 61-2-6, paragraph (3) of the Immigration Control Act).
(3) Inquiry into Facts
The applicants are responsible for proving that they are refugees (Immigration Control

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Act, Article 61-2, Paragraph 1), but due to the nature of the application for refugee recognition, it is not uncommon for people fleeing persecution to not have objective documentation,
so it is not appropriate to refuse recognition of refugee status just because the applicant does
not have adequate objective evidence of eligibility for refugee status. Therefore, when an
accurate recognition of refugee status is not possible with only the data furnished by the applicant, a refugee inquirer will inquire into facts (Article 61-2-14 of the Immigration Control
Act).
(4) Recognition of Refugee Status by the Minister of Justice and Effects ofRefugee Status
When a foreign national has been recognized as a refugee, the Minister of Justice will issue a certificate of refugee status to the foreign national concerned. If the foreign national isdenied recognition of refugee status, the foreign national will be notified in writing with thereason attached (Article 61-2, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).
In cases where a foreign national, who has been recognized as a refugee, is a foreign
national who does not have a status of residence, if he or she meets certain requirements
such as having filed an application for refugee recognition within six months of landing inJapan, such foreign national shall uniformly be granted the status of residence of “LongTerm Resident” (Article 61-2-2, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act). Even if theforeign national does not satisfy the requirements, the Minister of Justice may grant special
permission to stay if there are any grounds to grant special permission to stay (Article 61-22, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).
A foreign national who has been recognized as a refugee may receive a refugee travel
document as one of the effects under the Immigration Control Act (Article 61-2-12 of the
Immigration Control Act), and some of the requirements to obtain permission for permanent
residence will be eased (Article 61-2-11 of the Immigration Control Act).

３

Request for an Administrative Review(1) Request for an Administrative Review
If a foreign national has an objection to a disposition denying recognition of refugee status
or revoking recognition of refugee status, or if there is failure to act pertaining to the application for refugee recognition, such foreign national may submit a request to the Ministerof Justice for an administrative review (Article 61-2-9, paragraph (1) of the Immigration
Control Act).
The Minister of Justice must hear the opinions of refugee examination counselors when
making a determination on the request for an administrative review (paragraph (3) of thesame Article). In addition, if the Minister of Justice makes the determination to deny or
dismiss the request for an administrative review, the Minister of Justice must clearly state asummary of the opinions of the refugee examination counselors in the reasons to be attachedto the determination (paragraph (4) of the same Article).
(2) Refugee Examination Counselors System
The refugee examination counselors’ system was introduced in May 2005 in order toimprove the fairness and neutrality of the procedures. After that, in April 2016, with theenforcement of the amended Administrative Complaint Review Act, the provisions of the200Data Section 1

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

Data Section

same Act came to be applied deeming the refugee examination counselors to be the review
officers prescribed in the same Act (Article 61-2-9, paragraph (5) of the Immigration ControlAct), and moreover, the refugee examination counselors’ system also came to be applied tothe procedures for requesting an administrative review in cases of failure to act pertaining
to an application for recognition of refugee status (paragraphs (1) and (3) of the same Article).The refugee examination counselors are appointed by the Minister of Justice from thepersons of reputable character who are capable of making a fair judgment on the administrative review of a disposition denying recognition of refugee status or revoking recognition of
refugee status, or failure to act pertaining to the application for refugee recognition and who
have an academic background in law or international affairs (Article 61-2-10, paragraph (2)of the Immigration Control Act), and have been recommended by the UNHCR, the Japan
Federation of Bar Associations, NGOs or others. Three refugee examination counselors form
one team, and three refugee examination counselors appointed by the Minister of Justice foreach case carry out the prescribed administrative review procedures and submit a written
opinion to the Minister of Justice.

201

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Data Section 1

Reference 91

Outline of Japan’s Immigration Control and Residency Management System

Outline of Refugee Recognition Procedures

Illegal residents*An “irregular resident”
means a foreign
national who does nothave permission forresidence.

Legitimate residents
Application forrefugee recognition(first examination)

A p p l i c a t i o n f o r r e c o g n i t io n o f r e f u g e e s t a t u s（Article 61-2, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act））
Permission for provisional stay
(Article 61-2-4 of the Immigration Control Act)

*Cases of non-acquisition of a status of residence for a foreign national

Refusal of permission
for provisional stay(continuation ofdeportation procedures)

Re fusal pe rmission for
C h ange in th e Status
of Re sidence（ Article 2 0 of th e
I mmigration C ontrol
Ac t）

Permission forprovisional stay
(Suspension ofdeportation procedures)

Permission for Change in the
Status of Residence (Article 20of the Immigration Control
Act)*Status of residence of“Designated Activities (in theprocess of applying forrefugee recognition)” (workpermitted or work not
permitted)

Investigation of facts by refugee inquirer(Article 61-2-14 of the Immigration Control Act)
* As well as requesting relevant persons to appear,
refugee examination counselors may ask questions,ask for the presentation of documents or request areport on necessary matters by making inquiries toa public office or public or private organization.

Judgement of eligibility for refugee status
Refusal of refugee statusWith
consideration ofhumanitarian
grounds

Without
consideration ofhumanitarian
grounds

Recognition of refugee
statusRequest foran administrative review(Article 61-2-9 of the
Immigration Control Act)

Request for an
administrative
review(Appeal)○ Circumstances in the homecountry (opportunity to escapefrom conflict etc.)○ Circumstances in Japan(married to a Japanese nationaland responsible for supervisionand childcare of a biologicalJapanese child)(Article 20 or Article 61-2-2,
paragraph (2) of the Act)
*Status of residence:“Designated Activities (not in
the public notice)” (workpermitted)

Refugee examination
counselors submit a written
opinion

Determination of
the Minister of JusticeWithout reason(Refusal of
refugee status)

With reason

Illegal residents
Permission to obtain astatus of residence(Article 61-2-2, paragraph (1) of
the Immigration Control Act)
*Status of residence “Long-Term
Resident (5 years)” When certain
requirements have been met
Special permission to stay (Article
61-2-2, paragraph (2) of the Act)
* Status of residence “Long-Term
Resident (5 years)”

Legitimate residents
Permission to change toa status of residence(Article 20 or 61-2-3 ofthe Immigration ControlAct)* Status of residence“Long-Term Resident (5years)” When certain
requirements have been met

Requirements of permission for provisional stay
(1) There is no probable cause to suspect that the applicant falls under any of the reasons for deportation.
(2) The applicant has applied for permission within six months from the date of landing in Japan (the date when the resident knows the factthat he or she has become a refugee if any event that makes a foreign resident a refugee occurs during stay in Japan).
(3) The applicant came to Japan directly from a region where there is a fear of persecution.
(4) The applicant has never been sentenced to imprisonment with or without work for a certain criminal offense under thecriminal law, etc. after entering Japan.
(5) A deportation order has not been issued against the applicant.
(6) There is no probable cause to suspect that the applicant may flee from the country.

202

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４Outline of Japanʼs Immigration Control and Residency Management System

Data Section

Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge
Landing permission for temporary refuge, prescribed as one of the types of special landing
permission granted to foreign nationals (Article 18-2 of the Immigration Control Act), will be
granted by an immigration inspector if a foreign national aboard a vessel or aircraft has fledfrom a territory where his or her life, body or physical freedom is likely to be endangered forthe reasons prescribed in the Refugee Convention and other reasons equivalent thereto, and
it is appropriate for permission for temporary landing to be granted to such foreign national.
The period for landing is determined as a period not exceeding six months (Article 18-2,
paragraph (4) of the Immigration Control Act; Article 18, paragraph (5) of the Ordinancefor Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act)
（Reference 92）.

Reference 92

Flow of procedures of landing permission for temporary refuge#RRNKECVKQPHHQT.
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Valid Passport
Departed within
Designated Period

No Valid Passport
Not Departed within
Designated Period&GRQTVCVKQP2
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203

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Data Section 2

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Data Section 2 Organizational Expansion

and Staff Enhancement

Owing to significant changes in the circumstances affecting immigration control and residency
management administration in recent years, in response to an increase in the quantity and in thecomplexity of immigration duties, measures have been taken to improve and expand the organization and staff for immigration control.
Immigration control and residency management administration work was carried out by
6,181 officials as of the end of FY 2022 at the ISA and other Immigration Control and Residency
Management offices. Due to a wide range of challenges in immigration control and residency
management administration, further improvement and expansion of the organization and staff arestill necessary.

Section 1
１

Organizations

Outline of the Immigration Control and Residency Management Organization
As the organization with jurisdiction over immigration and residence management work,
the ISA was established as an external agency of the MOJ, and as Regional Immigration
Services Bureaus and District Immigration Offices established under the ISA, Regional
Immigration Services Bureaus have been established for each of the eight regional blocks
throughout the country, and below them, District Immigration Services Offices and Branch
Offices (including Branch Offices of District Immigration and Residence Offices). In addition,
Immigration Detention Facilities have been established as facilities and other organs of the
ISA, and based on the laws and regulations, the ISA engages in various tasks related to immigration and residence management administration such as the immigration examinations,residence examinations, deportation procedures, refugee recognition and general coordination
relating to the establishment of an environment for the acceptance of foreign nationals.
The ISA, Regional Immigration Services Bureaus, District Immigration Services Offices,
Branch Offices, and Immigration Detention Facilities are collectively referred to as “Immigration Services Offices” (References 93, 94).

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Reference 93

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Data Section

The ISA organizational chart（ As of April １ , 2022 ）（Detention facilities）
Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center

Immigration Centers

２

Regional Immigration

Services Bureaus

８

District Immigration

Omura Immigration Center

Services Offices

７

Branch Offices

６１（Regional Immigration Services Bureaus and District Immigration Offices）
Sapporo Regional Immigration Services Bureau

5 Branch Offices

Sendai Regional Immigration Services Bureau

6 Branch Offices

Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau

11 Branch Offices

Narita Airport District Immigration Services Office

Ministryof Justice

Immigration
Services
AgencyHaneda Airport District Immigration Services Office
Yokohama District Immigration Services Office

Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau

1 Branch Office

8 Branch Offices

Chubu Airport District Immigration Services OfficeOsaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

５ Branch Offices

Kansai Airport District Immigration Services Office
Kobe District Immigration Services Office

1 Branch Office

Hiroshima Regional Immigration Services Bureau

7 Branch Offices

Takamatsu Regional Immigration Services Bureau

3 Branch Offices

Fukuoka Regional Immigration Services Bureau

10 Branch Offices

Naha District Immigration Services Office

4 Branch Offices

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Reference 94

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Responsibilities of the ISA

Immigration Services Agency(As of April 1, 2022)

Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner
Chief Record Officer (Ex officio member)

Associate Commissioner for General Coordination
Associate Commissioner for International Affairs
General Affairs Division

206○ Confidential matters.
○ Matters relating to storage of the official seal of the Commissioner and office seal of the Agency.
○ Matters relating to receipt, sending, editing and preservation of official documents.
○ Matters relating to examination and progress of draft laws and regulations and other official documents.
○ Matters relating to the disclosure of information held by the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters related to the protection of personal information held by the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to the structure and fixed number of officers of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to general coordination of the administrative affairs under the jurisdiction of the
Immigration Services Agency (except for matters belonging to the jurisdiction of the Policy Planning
Division).
○ Matters relating to examination of the executive administration of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to public relations.
○ Matters relating to improving the efficiency of the administrative affairs of the Immigration Services
Agency.
○ Matters relating to commendations and ceremonies.
○ Matters relating to appointment or dismissal, the salary, disciplinary action, duties, other personnel
matters, and service and training of the staffs of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to provide necessary training for the staffs of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to expenses and the income budget pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Immigration
Services Agency, settlement of accounts, accounting and account auditing.
○ Matters relating to management of the administrative property and articles belonging to the Immigration
Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to management in the Agency.
○ Matters relating to maintenance of the facilities relating to the administrative affairs under thejurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to the housing of the staffs of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to the health, medical care and other welfare of the staffs of the Immigration Services
Agency.
○ Organization and management of Immigration detention centers.
○ Organization and management of the regional immigration services bureaus.
○ Matters concerning the organization and management of the Organization for Technical Intern Training.
○ Matters relating to provide necessary training to the staffs of local public agencies and other relatedparties.
○ In addition to the matters listed in the preceding items, matters relating to the administrative affairs under
the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency that do not belong to other jurisdictions.

Inspection Office○ Matters relating to inspections to ensure compliance withlaws and regulations and other appropriate execution of duties
by the staffs of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Immigration Detention Facilities Visiting Committee.

Information System Management Office○ Matters relating to the development and management of
the information system of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to notices pursuant to the provisions ofArticle 30-50 of the Residential Basic Book Act (Act No. 81
of 1967).

Data Section 2

Policy Planning DivisionCounsellor(2)Immigration Department

BorderManagement
Division

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Data Section○ Matters relating to basic and comprehensive policy planning and drafting regarding the administrative
affairs under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Planning of the Basic Plan for Immigration and Residency Management.
○ Matters related to the drafting of laws and regulations concerning the administrative affairs under thejurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency.
○ Matters relating to the basic policy for operation of the system pertaining to the status of residence of“Specified Skilled Worker” and development of policy according to the field.

Foreign Residents Policy Planning Office○ Matters relating to controlling the administrative affairs
relating to necessary planning and drafting and generalcoordination to integrate the measures of each administrative
department based on the basic policy determined by the
Cabinet regarding important specific policies of the Cabinet
related to the duties of Article 28, paragraph (1) of the Act for
Establishment of the Ministry of Justice.

Senior Coordinator for Policy Planning○ Matters relating to controlling the administrative affairs
regarding coordination pertaining to specific matters within
the administrative affairs under the jurisdiction of the Policy
Department.

○The drafting of legislation and the planning of other important policies of the Immigration Services
Agency.
○ Matters relating to managing the departure and return of Japanese people as well as the entry anddeparture of foreign nationals (except for matters belonging to the jurisdiction of the General Affairs
Division and Policy Planning Division).
○ Matters relating to permission for the residence of foreign nationals with the status of residence of“Temporary Visitor”.
○ Matters relating to permission for residence pursuant to the provisions of Article 50, paragraph (1) of the
Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Act No. 319 of 1951; hereinafter referred to as the“Immigration Control Act”).
○ Matters relating to permission for residence pursuant to the provisions of Article 61-2-2, paragraphs (1)and (2) of the Immigration Control Act, revocation of permission pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (5)of the same Article, and permission for provisional stay pursuant to the provisions of Article 61-2-4,
paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act (hereinafter referred to as “residence permission, etc.”).
○ Landing permission for temporary refuge.

○ Landing examination and permission for foreign nationals (except for matters belonging to thejurisdiction of the Adjudication Division).
○ Permission for re-entry of foreign nationals.
○ Departure of foreign nationals, departure and return of Japanese nationals.
○ Responsibility of the captain of a vessel or aircraft and the carrier set forth in Chapter VI of the
Immigration Control Act.
○ Matters relating to permission for residence of foreign nationals with the status of residence of“Temporary Visitor”.
○ Matters relating to residence permission, etc (except for matters belonging to the jurisdiction of the
Adjudication Division).
○ In addition to the matters listed in the preceding items, matters related to the administrative affairs under
the jurisdiction of the Immigration Control Department that do not belong to other jurisdictions.
Refugee Recognition Office○Landing permission for temporary refuge.
○ Matters relating to residence permission, etc. (except for
matters belonging to the jurisdiction of the Adjudication
Division).
○Issuance of refugee travel documents.
○Recognition of refugee status (except for matters belonging
to the jurisdiction of the Adjudication Division).

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Adjudication Division○ Examination pursuant to Article 45, paragraph (1) and Article 55-2, paragraph (2) of the Immigration
Control Act.
○ Issuance of detention orders and deportation orders.
○ Matters relating to provisional release of detainees.
○ Departure order pursuant to Article 55-3, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act.
○ Hearing and objections concerning the landing and deportation of foreign nationals (except for mattersbelonging to the General Affairs Department).
○ Matters relating to permission for residence pursuant to the provisions of Article 50, paragraph (1) of the
Immigration Control Act.
○ Matters relating to residence permission, etc. pertaining to a request for administrative review of adisposition denying recognition of refugee status.
○ Request for an administrative review concerning denial of recognition of refugee status and revocation of
refugee status.

Enforcement Division○Violation investigations set forth in Article 2, item (xiv) of the Immigration Control Act.
○Execution of detention orders and deportation orders.
○Security of immigration detention centers, detention facilities and other facilities, and treatment ofdetainees.
○Carrying and use of arms by immigration inspectors and immigration control officers.
○Inspection, demeanor and emergency drills of immigration control officers.

Residency Management ○ Matters relating to the residence of foreign nationals in Japan (except for those belonging to otherand Support
jurisdictions).
○ Matters relating to the collection, organization and analysis of information pertaining to the
Department
administrative affairs under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency and statistics.

Residency Management Division○Residence status examination and permission for foreign nationals (except for matters belonging to thejurisdiction of the Immigration Control Department).
○ Matters relating to issuance of the certificate of eligibility.
○ Matters relating to registration of registered support organizations.
○ In addition to the matters listed in the preceding items, matters related to the administrative affairs
under the jurisdiction of the Residence Management Support Department not belonging to otherjurisdictions.

Residency Management Operations OfficeSenior Coordinator for Residency Examination○ Matters relating to controlling the administrative affairs
concerning management of the mid to long-term residence of
foreign nationals (except for those belonging to the General
Affairs Department).
○ Matters relating to controlling the administrative affairs
concerning coordination pertaining to specific matters within
the administrative affairs under the jurisdiction of the
Residency Management Division.

Residency Support Division○ Matters related to planning, drafting, coordination, and promotion of matters regarding residence support(meaning support to ensure foreign nationals who are residing legally in Japan are able to stably andsmoothly reside in Japan).
○ Matters relating to support for the residence support provided by the local governments and privategroups (except for matters belonging to the General Affairs Department).

Intelligence Analysis○ Matters relating to controlling the administrative affairs concerning the collection, organization andanalysis of information and statistics pertaining to the administrative affairs under the jurisdiction of the
Immigration Services Agency.

(*) Other than the positions mentioned above, one Assistant Deputy Vice-Minister of Justice and attorneys (legal
specialists) are assigned to the Immigration Bureau.

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Data Section

２ Review of the Organizational Structure of the Immigration Control and Residency Management Offices
Major organizational expansions in FY 2022 are as follows.
○ Establish Chief Record Officer as a system to ensure the propriety of public document
management and information disclosure.
○ Establish the Inspection Office to strengthen the audit guidance system for staff, and assign
more Assistant to the Director to the General Affairs Division of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau, Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau, and Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
○ In order to develop a system for appropriate treatment of detainees at immigration detention facilities, establish a new Medical Planning Coordinator in the ISA, Immigration Control
Department, Enforcement Division. Also, increase the number of supervising immigration
control officers in charge of treatment of sick and injured detainees in each treatment department of the Omura Immigration Center, Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau,and Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
○ In order to improve the system associated with the establishment of an accounting institution, assign more Assistant to the Director and Senior Expert to the ISA, General Affairs
Division.
○ In order to improve the information analysis system related to the economic security field,
increase the number of Senior Expert in the ISA, Residency Management and Support Department, Intelligence Analysis.
○ In order to improve the system for realizing proper immigration inspections, establish theTrainee and Temporary Visitor Inspection Department in the Nagoya Regional Immigration
Services Bureau, and the Inspection Coordination Department in the Fukuoka Regional
Immigration Services Bureau.
○ In order to improve the environment for accepting foreign nationals, assign more supervising examiners (coordinators for consultation services) at the Nagoya Regional Immigration
Services Bureau and Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
○ In order to improve the system for a safer and more secure society, assign more supervising immigration control officers in charge of deportation at the expense of the government
to Omura Immigration Center and Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau.
Further, most Branch Offices of Regional Immigration Services Bureaus (including Branch
Offices of District Immigration Services Offices) were located within the area of seaports,based on the historical background that they were originally established for immigration
examination of crew members and passengers on oceangoing vessels. Now, as the primarymeans of international transportation has shifted from oceangoing vessels to airplanes, immigration examinations at airports became the main service, and as foreign nationals residing
in Japan for a long time increased, the Ministry has proceeded to reorganize, integrate or
scrap Branch Offices at seaports to respond to the foregoing change in administrative needs,
and has made efforts to re-allocate Branch Offices by establishing them at local airports
where many international flights arrive, prefectural capitals, and other major cities (Reference 95).
As a result, the number of Branch Offices established in the country through reorganization of Regional Immigration Offices into Regional Immigration Bureaus, which was 103
as of April 1, 1981, is 61 as of April 1, 2022. The establishment of at least one Regional
Immigration Services Office in each prefecture has been achieved, while Branch Offices have209

Data Section

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Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

decreased by about 40% from 1981.
Those Branch Offices should not only improve convenience for foreign nationals who cometo submit various applications, reports or consultation but also enhance close cooperation
with related local organizations, such as the police, in collecting information on illegal andimposter residents. With a view to enhancing cooperation with local authorities and relatedorganizations which accept foreign nationals who intend to reside in Japan for a medium
to long term, it is necessary to continue rationalizing and streamlining the organizational
structure, with the aim of ensuring smooth and proper processing, including immigration
examination, residence examination, residence support and collection of information on offenders in violation of the Immigration Control Act, and establishing a more comprehensive
framework for branch offices.

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Data Section

Reference 95 R
 eorganization, abolishment or establishment of branch offices of
the regional immigration services bureaus (actual performance)(As of April 1, 2022)
FiscalYear

Division

Abolition
Name

Establishment
Location

Name

Location

Amagasaki City
Kure City
Karatsu City
Imari City

Saga Branch Office

Saga City

2000

Amagasaki Port Branch
OfficeKure Port Branch Office
Karatsu Port Branch
OfficeImari Port Branch Office

Yokosuka City
Mizobe-cho Aira-gun
Shimizu City
Fuji City

Shizuoka Branch Office

Shizuoka City

2001

Yokosuka Port Branch
OfficeKagoshima Airport
Branch OfficeShimizu Port Branch
OfficeTagonoura Port Branch
Office2002

Iwakuni Port Branch
Iwakuni City
OfficeYatsushiro City
Yatsushiro Port Branch
Hitachi City
OfficeKamisu-cho Kashima-gun
Hitachi Port Branch Office
Kashima Port Branch
OfficeKofu Branch Office
Gifu Branch Office
Otsu Branch Office
Mito Branch Office

Kofu City
Gifu City
Otsu City
Mito City

Koto-ku Tokyo
Shibuya-ku Tokyo
Muroran City
Miyako City
Ofunato City
Ishinomaki City
Sasebo City
Naha City

Shinjuku Branch OfficeMorioka Branch Office

Shinjuku-ku Tokyo
Morioka City

2003

Tokyo Port Branch Office
Shibuya Branch Office
Muroran Port Branch
OfficeMiyako Port Branch
OfficeOfunato Port Branch
OfficeIshinomaki Port Branch
OfficeSasebo Port Branch Office
Naha Port Branch Office

Aomori City
Hachinohe City
Yokohama City
Nagoya City
Toyoyama-cho Nishikasugai-gun
Sakai City
Kobe City
Kurashiki City
Shibushi-cho Soo-gun

Aomori Branch Office

Aomori City

2004

Aomori Port Branch
OfficeHachinohe Port Branch
OfficeYokohama Port Branch
OfficeNagoya Port Branch
OfficeNagoya Airport Branch
OfficeSakai Port Branch Office
Kobe Port Branch OfficeMizushima Port Branch
OfficeShibushi Branch Office

2005

Naoetsu Port Branch
OfficeJoetsu City

2007

Osaka Port Branch OfficeTennoji Branch OfficeOsaka City
Osaka City

Tobu Branch Office

Edogawa-ku Tokyo2010

Haneda Airport Branch
OfficeOta-ku Tokyo

2014

Otaru Port Branch OfficeOtaru City

Asahikawa Branch Office

Asahikawa City

211

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Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Section 2 Staff
１

ISA Staff
In immigration centers and regional immigration services bureaus, immigration inspectors
and immigration control officers are assigned as staffs who are engaged in immigration control duties. In addition, administrative officers of the MOJ engage in general administrative
duties and technical officers of the MOJ, including doctors, are also assigned.
Immigration inspectors are responsible for (1) examinations and hearings in entry (landing)
procedures, (2) examination of various applications for residence, investigation of facts, andon-site inspections of institutions to which Specified Skilled Workers, (3) examination andhearings in deportation procedures, issuance of written detention orders and deportation
orders, as well as provisional release clerical work, (4) investigations related to refugee recognition, and (5) work related to improving the environment for accepting foreign nationals.
Immigration control officers are responsible for (1) investigating violations related to theunauthorized stay of illegal entrants and illegal overstayers, (2) detaining and escorting
suspects by executing written detention orders, as well as guarding detention facilities, (3)deporting people subject to deportation by execution of a deportation order, (4) fact-finding
and on-site inspections of organizations to which Specified Skilled Workers belong.
The immigration control officers come under the provisions of “police officials” under the
National Public Service Act, and moreover, since they often have to engage in dangerous
work, they also come under the “public security service offcials” of the Act on Remunerationof Officials in Regular Service.
Immigration control officers are divided into seven ranks (keibikan, keibicho, keibishicho,
keibishi, keibishiho, keishucho, and keishu, in order of descending superiority) in order toclarify the chain of command for group operations for detection.
Since individual immigration inspectors and immigration control officers perform theirduties independently as specialists in immigration control and residency management, thespecialist system was introduced. These officials are required to have legal knowledge necessary for their duties as well as a balanced point of view from an international perspective
and the ability to interact with foreign nationals flexibly while giving consideration to theirdiverse cultures, custom and religions and their human rights.

212

Data Section 2

２

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Data Section

Staff Increase
The number of ISA-related staff was 6,181 in FY 2022, which was an increase of about 34%(1,567) compared to five years ago in FY 2017 when the number was 4,614. However, during
this period, the number of cases handled by the immigration offices has remained at a highlevel, and the immigration control work has been getting more complex and difficult suchas the need to balance smooth yet rigorous entry examinations in order to promote Japanas a tourism-oriented country but to prevent terrorist acts and illegal entry; to implement
measures to deal with the forged or altered documents that are becoming increasingly moresophisticated; to strengthen the residence management pertaining to foreign nationals after
entry into Japan; to enforce strengthened detection and reliable deportation of illegal foreign
residents, some of whom are potential criminals; to implement measures against foreign
residents disguised as legal residents; and to implement even more appropriate yet stricter
examinations of applications for refugee recognition. Further staff increase is necessary inorder to deal appropriately and swiftly with such situations and to meet the public needs foradministration (Reference 96).

213

Data Section

Data Section 2

Reference 96

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Changes in the number of immigration control and Residency
Management office personnel(People）
6,600
6,181
6,400
Total
6,020
6,200
5,866
Inspector
6,000
5,800
5,432
Control officer
5,600
5,400
4,885
5,200
5,000
4,614
4,800
4,410
4,600
4,202
4,400
3,983 4,054
3,969
3,872
4,200
3,823 3,881 3,885
3,714
4,000
3,565
3,547
3,800
3,413
3,600
3,268
3,142
3,120
3,400
2,972
2,882
3,200
2,833
2,680
3,000
2,800
2,471
2,600 2,693
2,204
2,400
2,050 2,089
1,881 1,979
2,200
1,737
2,000
1,580 1,626
1,800
1,433 1,494
1,600 1,272 1,343
1,400
1,623
1,200
1,523 1,564 1,564 1,571 1,562 1,531 1,500 1,459 1,456 1,450 1,444 1,505 1,611 1,611
1,367 1,431
1,000
1,266
1,183
800 1,101
600
400
200
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

(Fiscal Year)（People）

Division Administrative
officials in the
Ministry of Administrative
officials
Fiscal Year
Justice
1985
169
155
1995
163
165
2000
157
164
2003
152
144
2004
142
142
2005
131
122
2006
129
122
2007
128
121
2008
127
129
2009
126
130
2010
126
135
2011
126
139
2012
126
135
2013
126
131
2014
126
131
2015
140
124
2016
140
126
2017
140
134
2018
139
152
*

Inspectors
703
1,152
1,196
1,272
1,343
1,433
1,494
1,580
1,626
1,737
1,881
1,979
2,050
2,089
2,204
2,471
2,680
2,882
3,142

Control
officers
658
869
998
1,101
1,183
1,266
1,367
1,431
1,523
1,564
1,564
1,571
1,562
1,531
1,500
1,459
1,456
1,450
1,444

Others

Sub-Total
55
38
26
24
23
20
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8

1,571
2,224
2,384
2,541
2,691
2,841
2,991
3,140
3,286
3,439
3,588
3,697
3,755
3,759
3,843
4,062
4,270
4,474
4,746

Total
1,740
2,387
2,541
2,693
2,833
2,972
3,120
3,268
3,413
3,565
3,714
3,823
3,881
3,885
3,969
4,202
4,410
4,614
4,885

The administrative officers of the Ministry before FY２0１8 do not include the Deputy Director-General.

Division

Fiscal Year
2019
2020
2021
2022

214

Regional Immigration Bureaus

Immigration Services Agency
Administrative
Immigration Control and Residency Management Offices
officials in theControl
Immigration Administrative Inspectors
Others
Sub-Total
officials
officers
Sevices Agency
211
161
3,547
1,505
8
5,221
211
164
3,872
1,611
8
5,655
251
164
3,983
1,611
11
5,769
291
188
4,054
1,623
25
5,890

Total
5,432
5,866
6,020
6,181

Data Section 2

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Data Section

The “Japan Revitalization Strategy” (Revised in 2015) approved by the Cabinet in June2015 set out “the goal of quickly preparing for an ʻera of 20 million’ foreign visitors coming
to Japan, and its early realization”, and as a result of the promotion of various measures by
the government aimed at the realization of a tourist-oriented country such as relaxation ofvisa requirements measures, since the number of foreign nationals entering Japan rapidly
increased to approximately 19.69 million people in 2015, the “Tourism Vision to Support the
Future of Japan” (decision of the Council for the Development of a Tourism Vision to Support the Future of Japan) outlined the goal of aiming for 40 million visitors by 2020, and 60
million visitors by 2030.
The “Basic Policy for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2019”, decided by the
Cabinet in June 2019, states that steady efforts shall be made to accept foreign professionals
and establish an environment for them. This is for the purpose of properly and smoothly
accepting foreign professionals with the new residence statuses of “Specific Skilled Worker (i)”and “Specific Skilled Worker (ii)”, as well as realizing a society of harmonious coexistence,
where Japanese nationals and foreign nationals can live together safely and with peace ofmind.
In such circumstances, we increased the number of staff by a total of 282 in 2021, including 175 staff to enhance and strengthen immigration inspection operations, and 85 staff toenhance and strengthen the residence management and support system for accepting foreign
professionals. Approval has been given to increase staff by a total of 285 in 2022, including 55
staff to enhance and strengthen immigration inspection operations, and 120 staff to enhanceand strengthen the residence management and support system for accepting foreign professionals. Based on the “Policy on Organization and Staffing of National Government Offices”
decided by the Cabinet in July 2014, as a part of the government we have promoted administrative operational reform initiatives in order to rationalize staffing.

３

Training
Training for the ISA staff has been done every year by the Research and Training Institute (RTI), an agency that conducts research and training for the MOJ.
However, since the establishment of the ISA, the scope of operations under its jurisdiction has expanded, making it necessary to add new training courses. Also, in addition to
training for staff of the ISA conducted so far, it is now necessary to implement training for
local government staff and other related parties, and to train human resources who cancomprehensively plan and formulate policies to establish an acceptance environment for therealization of society of harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, which are part of the
ISA’s new operations.
In these circumstances, the Ministry shifted its training functions from RTI to the ISA, on
April 1, 2021 so that the ISA can conduct training adapted to ever-changing societal conditions.
The ISA is working to enhance its training by adding new training on residency support
to the systematic training for new staff, mid-career staff, and managers, which has been
implemented under the guidance of the RTI. In order to improve the expert knowledgeof staff, lectures in training have been delivered by not only its own staff, but also outside
experts and the ISA has conducted various types of training, in addition to systematic training, such as training for officers engaged in the work of entry and residence examinations,215

Data Section

Data Section 2

Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

training for officers engaged in refugee recognition work, training for fingerprint forensics,
training related to human rights and training related mental health. Also, because the ISA’s
work mainly involves foreign nationals, the ISA is making efforts to improve staff ’s language
skills needed for work, such as by outsourcing English and other languages training forstaff to professional language schools. In these manners, the ISA is making efforts to train
staff who are well versed in practical matters related to immigration control and residency
management.
In addition, the ISA conducts training on measures for coexistence with foreign nationals,
not only for its own staff, but for local government staff as well.

Scene of Training216

Data Section 3

Budget, etc.

Data Section

Data Section 3 Budget, etc.
Section 1

Budgets

The changes in the budget for immigration control and residency management administration
are as shown in Reference 97, and amid the severe administrative and financial situation ofrecent years, the necessary funds to implement the various measures being promoted by the ISA
were allocated in the FY 2022 budget. The ISA will continue to strive to make effective use of
the budget and to reduce administrative costs.
Reference 97

Changes in the budget for immigration control and residency
management administration(million yen)
80,00070,00080,000personnel expenses

67,041equipment expenses

64,82060,00060,00050,00040,00030,00047,33447,40438,81050,00038,78240,00037,69627,12426,99530,00022,29620,00020,00028,231

10,000070,00015,4002006

20,20920,409

2011

2016

2021

26,0382022

10,000
0(Fiscal Year)(*1) The amount of budget is the initial amount of budget.
(*2) Some figures may not be consistent owing to the fact that the numbers are rounded off to units of 1 million yen.
(*3) Including international tourism passenger tax business (FY2021: 4,084 million yen, FY2022: 2,905 million yen).
(*4) Including government information system costs (Cabinet Secretariat and Digital Agency lump sum, FY 2021 10,663
million yen and Digital Agency lump sum FY2022 10,301 million yen).

217

Data Section

Data Section 3

Budget, etc.

Section 2 Facilities
As of March 31, 2022, eight Regional Immigration Services Bureaus are housed in independent
office buildings of the MOJ (Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka), joint office buildings of the MOJ (Sendai,
Hiroshima, Takamatsu, and Fukuoka), and joint office buildings with other national government
authorities (Sapporo) respectively. All of the District Immigration Services Offices and theBranch Offices of Regional Immigration Services Bureaus are housed either in independent officebuildings of the MOJ (Yokohama), in general offices of the MOJ, in office buildings jointly with
branch offices of port-related national government authorities, in office building jointly with othernational government authorities, in airport terminal building, or in other civil or public facilities.
Two detention centers for foreign nationals in the country are maintained as independent offices of the MOJ (Omura) and general offices of the MOJ (Higashi-Nihon).

218

Data Section 4

Data Section

Statistics

Data Section 4 Statistics（１）Changes in the Number of New Arrivals and Mid to Long-Term Residents for
the Principal Statuses of Residence by Nationality/Region
1-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Highly-Skilled Professional" by nationality/
region（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
United States of America
R.O.Korea
TaiwanCanadaIndia
FranceSingapore
United Kingdom
Australia
China (Hong Kong)
Others

Year

2017

2018
302
65
60
21
17
8
14
27
4
15
8
7
56

2019
531
124
102
38
23
12
39
29
7
30
20
8
99

2020
779
209
124
34
50
15
63
44
5
32
12
22
169

2021
456
113
80
15
26
11
38
13
3
25
19
14
99

108
31
16
8
5
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
22

（*） The number for “Highly-Skilled Professional” is the number combining of “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a), “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)(b),“Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)” and “Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)”.

1-2

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Highly-Skilled Professional" bynationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
India
R.O.Korea
United States of America
TaiwanViet NamFranceUnited Kingdom
Malaysia
Indonesia
Others

Year

2017

2018
7,668
5,142
334
277
331
290
168
146
112
53
32
783

11,061
7,258
500
442
469
422
287
212
165
74
60
1,172

2019
14,924
9,769
739
589
612
499
379
282
225
101
88
1,641

2020
16,554
10,876
842
653
677
516
435
278
254
118
88
1,817

2021
15,735
10,309
873
692
598
457
436
237
226
111
111
1,685

（*1）The numbers are based on the statistics as at the end of December each year (hereinafter the same applies to the tables relating to thenumber of mid to long-term residents.).
（*2） “China” excludes those who were issued the residence cards and special permanent resident certificates and had already been included in“Taiwan” in nationality/region section (hereinafter the same applies to the tables relating to the number of mid to long-term residents).



2-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Business Manager" by nationality/region（People）
Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Nationality/Region
Total
1,660
1,790
2,237
1,537
474
China
921
985
1,417
864
269
R.O.Korea
155
180
174
117
31
France
43
35
45
30
22
Taiwan
65
54
81
68
20
United States of America
97
107
84
38
15
China (Hong Kong)
24
28
46
63
13
Sri Lanka
38
36
54
35
11
Nepal
12
16
18
29
10
Viet Nam
21
34
32
31
6
India
25
24
15
14
6
Australia
33
29
34
9
6
Germany
27
29
30
16
6
Others
199
233
207
223
59

219

Data Section

Data Section 4

Statistics

2-2 C hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Business Manager" by
nationality/region
（People）
Nationality/Region
Total
China
R.O.Korea
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Viet Nam
TaiwanUnited States of America
India
Bangladesh
Others

Year

2017

2018

24,033
12,447
3,095
1,392
839
1,109
265
818
679
392
296
2,701

2019

25,67013,397
3,104
1,531
1,014
1,200
376
826
706
396
307
2,813

2020

27,24914,442
3,078
1,588
1,225
1,284
491
862
668
391
331
2,889

2021

27,235
14,317
2,819
1,708
1,427
1,374
640
787
605
387
362
2,809

27,197
13,748
2,620
1,981
1,540
1,515
1,031
720
520
405
398
2,719

3-1 C
 hanges in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services" by nationality/region
（People）
Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
R.O.Korea
United States of America
Sri Lanka
MyanmarTaiwanUnited Kingdom
FranceGermany
Others3-2

2018

25,063
4,529
5,492
3,160
1,632
424
445
1,416
619
346
178
6,822

2019

34,182
8,623
6,785
3,833
1,717
495
679
1,979
605
373
153
8,940

2020

43,88012,245
9,532
4,161
1,815
726
1,171
2,301
745
402
215
10,5672021

19,705
6,484
2,702
1,533
777
850
730
976
287
254
111
5,001

2,532
628
532
242
207
113
96
89
55
52
41
477

Year

2017

2018

189,273
75,01022,045
21,603
5,426
9,210
5,924
8,626
6,556
2,806
2,316
29,751

2019

225,724
81,73634,752
24,602
8,541
11,587
7,083
9,124
7,753
3,491
3,146
33,9092020

271,999
90,766
51,71327,388
12,20314,140
8,150
9,604
9,455
4,575
4,689
39,3162021

283,380
88,662
61,181
25,76015,581
13,654
8,250
8,848
8,924
6,233
5,767
40,520274,740
81,22164,20022,652
19,406
12,192
7,784
7,685
7,637
7,344
6,087
38,532

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Intra-company Transferee" by nationality/
region（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
ThailandSri Lanka
Viet Nam
R.O.Korea
United States of America
The Philippines
Germany
TaiwanCanadaOthers220

2017

 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Engineer/Specialist inC
Humanities/International Services" by nationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
Viet Nam
R.O.Korea
Nepal
TaiwanThe Philippines
United States of America
India
Sri Lanka
Myanmar
Others

4-1

Year

Year

2017

2018
8,665
2,665
675
75
576
713
321
1,081
150
260
26
2,123

2019
9,478
2,662
795
51
736
587
350
1,357
128
304
24
2,484

2020
9,964
2,890
939
100
954
581
314
1,278
145
234
26
2,503

2021
3,188
548
274
276
329
198
115
412
79
94
20
843

497
98
70
49
43
43
28
27
26
16
14
83

Data Section 4
4-2

2017

2018

16,486
5,807
1,689
1,287
909
338
1,252
842
392
574
697
2,699

2019

17,328
5,797
1,557
1,634
1,082
351
1,300
913
575
597
691
2,831

2020

18,193
6,129
1,539
1,658
1,342
419
1,429
1,008
686
536
666
2,781

2021

13,415
4,078
1,209
1,272
1,159
653
840
667
462
416
474
2,185

8,593
2,509
811
777
751
632
460
380
310
264
244
1,455

（People）
Year

2017

2018

39,929
6,306
1,724
7,116
1,236
3,192
624
1,483
442
1,695
489
15,622

2019

42,703
6,069
1,521
8,510
1,561
3,344
640
1,622
393
1,785
408
16,8502020

45,486
6,510
1,846
9,190
1,172
3,763
487
1,522
454
1,608
504
18,430

2021
7,218
949
297
1,063
199
415
186
134
24
106
76
3,769

1,570
241
117
115
113
106
87
70
66
61
54
540

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Entertainer" by nationality/
region（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
United States of America
The Philippines
Brazil
R.O.Korea
Australia
China
Spain
United Kingdom
Thailand
New Zealand
OthersYear

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Entertainer" by nationality/region

Nationality/Region
Total
United States of America
RussiaR.O.Korea
FranceUnited Kingdom
Austria
Italy
Czech
Germany
BrazilOthers5-2Data Section

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Intra-company Transferee" bynationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
R.O.Korea
The Philippines
Viet Nam
Sri Lanka
India
ThailandIndonesia
TaiwanUnited States of America
Others5-1
Statistics

Year

2017

2018
2,094
375
494
126
254
70
101
19
50
89
12
504

2019
2,389
382
650
154
219
109
111
40
72
83
17
552

2020
2,508
389
644
150
211
80
171
44
87
111
31
590

2021
1,865
328
384
144
163
84
93
68
55
28
31
487

1,564
312
164
154
126
87
74
51
47
44
39
466

6-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Skilled Labor" by nationality/region（People）
Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Nationality/Region
Total
3,692
3,551
4,355
1,729
388
China
770
1,099
1,641
555
147
Nepal
738
338
490
336
111
India
486
605
552
308
40
New Zealand
46
66
55
20
16
Bangladesh
61
52
27
11
7
The Philippines
134
99
50
28
6
United States of America
63
57
60
23
6
United Kingdom
115
133
152
19
6
Viet Nam
134
207
200
83
5
France
20
18
37
16
5
Others
1,125
877
1,091
330
39

221

Data Section

Data Section 4
6-2

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Skilled Labor" by nationality/
region（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
Nepal
India
ThailandThe Philippines
Viet Nam
R.O.Korea
Bangladesh
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Others7-1

Statistics

Year

2017
39,177
15,537
12,706
4,867
1,258
603
403
895
319
232
203
2,154

2018
39,915
15,922
12,547
5,237
1,271
661
537
838
339
271
211
2,081

2019

2020

41,692
16,763
12,679
5,603
1,283
672
671
806
343
266
226
2,380

2021

40,491
16,46912,524
5,592
1,229
668
692
712
323
253
217
1,812

38,24015,437
12,112
5,379
1,140
652
647
632
290
226
199
1,526

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Specified Skiled Worker(i)" by nationality/
region（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
Indonesia
MyanmarThailandCambodia
The Philippines
Nepal
R.O.Korea
TaiwanOthers

Year

2017

2018

2019

2020
563
304
2
112
37
27
59
1
7
3
1
10

2021
3,760
1,816
503
717
184
139
235
46
28
8
19
65

1,093
765
157
56
42
31
27
9
3
2
1
0

（*） The statuses of “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” were newly established on April 1, 2019.

7-2

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Specified Skiled Worker(i)" bynationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
The Philippines
Indonesia
China
MyanmarThailandCambodia
Nepal
Mongolia
Sri Lanka
Others

8-1

Year

2017

2018

2019

2020
1,621
901
111
189
100
100
79
94
18
2
5
22

15,663
9,412
1,059
1,514
1,575
674
455
488
135
75
63
213

2021
49,666
31,721
4,607
3,889
3,694
2,294
1,034
990
668
191
140
438

 hanges in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training (i)" by nationality/Cregion（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
MyanmarIndonesia
Cambodia
ThailandThe Philippines
Sri Lanka
Nepal
Laos
OthersYear

2017127,671
58,69034,072
3,233
9,581
2,978
4,449
12,923
217
88
176
1,264

2018
144,195
72,582
33,640
3,723
12,233
3,316
4,579
12,060
272
135
197
1,458

2019
173,705
91,17034,685
6,460
15,746
4,216
4,813
13,839
344
190
230
2,012

2020
76,456
41,341
11,049
3,543
8,261
2,746
2,771
5,119
249
118
115
1,144

2021
22,117
16,450
3,505
825
494
273
272
245
40
8
4
1

（*） The number for “Technical Intern Training (i)” is the number combining “Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)” and “Technical Intern Training (i)(b)”.

222

Data Section 4
8-2

Data Section

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training (i)"by nationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
MyanmarIndonesia
The Philippines
Cambodia
ThailandSri Lanka
Mongolia
Nepal
Others9

Statistics

Year

2017

2018

124,072
58,79332,095
3,091
9,520
12,320
2,827
3,927
184
612
81
622

2019

143,377
74,15032,178
3,682
12,162
11,793
3,270
4,303
260
805
133
641

169,383
90,77632,4896,299
15,41913,271
4,162
4,513
331
1,109
189
825

2020

2021

75,681
41,564
10,891
3,456
8,030
4,818
2,736
2,670
240
771
118
387

24,216
17,793
3,644
937
735
381
340
310
42
18
8
8

 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training (ii)"Cby nationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
Indonesia
The Philippines
MyanmarThailandCambodia
Mongolia
Sri Lanka
Laos
Others

Year

2017

2018

150,153
64,76245,472
12,374
15,489
3,053
4,503
3,353
487
157
254
249

2019

177,585
86,15544,33114,144
17,798
4,635
5,122
3,969
661
212
284
274

215,233
113,81045,412
18,054
19,358
6,070
5,914
4,595
946
375
302
397

2020

2021

262,663
146,143
46,92423,441
21,417
9,083
6,741
5,944
1,410
535
351
674

204,824
116,646
28,79020,147
16,287
8,682
5,740
5,619
1,353
513
288
759

（*） The number for “Technical Intern Training (ii)” is the number combining “Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)” and “Technical Intern Training(ii)-(b)”.

10-1 C hanges in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training (iii)" bynationality/region
（People）
Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
Indonesia
The Philippines
MyanmarThailandCambodia
Sri Lanka
Mongolia
Laos
Others

Year

2017

2018
8
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2019
5,712
3,240
1,062
491
511
66
167
135
9
16
9
6

2020

14,976
7,777
2,706
1,125
1,887
382
539
466
19
47
16
12

2021
7,252
3,717
1,109
703
854
205
350
255
11
24
15
9

1,283
803
288
57
46
41
29
17
2
0
0
0

（*1） The status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (iii)(a) and (b)” was newly established on November 1, 2017.
（*2） The number for “Technical Intern Training (iii)” is the number combining “Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)” and “Technical Intern
Training (iii)-(b)”.

10-2 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Technical Intern Training (iii)"
Cby nationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
The Philippines
China
Indonesia
MyanmarCambodia
ThailandMongolia
Sri Lanka
Nepal
Others

Year

2017

2018
8
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2019
7,398
4,194
730
1,297
608
115
185
214
18
15
7
15

26,35614,141
3,245
4,469
1,931
749
759
898
68
34
22
40

2020
39,856
21,172
5,413
5,926
2,988
1,424
1,290
1,324
129
64
42
84

2021
47,083
26,124
6,518
5,055
4,125
1,769
1,516
1,428
195
157
99
97

223

Data Section

Data Section 4
11-1

Statistics

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Student" by nationality/region （People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
Viet Nam
R.O.Korea
Indonesia
Malaysia
Nepal
ThailandTaiwanBangladesh
Mongolia
Others

Year

2017

2018

123,232
41,65624,893
7,326
2,850
1,195
8,474
2,164
5,470
1,301
1,280
26,623

2019

124,269
42,151
26,125
8,231
2,935
1,112
7,614
2,084
5,646
1,137
1,538
25,6962020

121,637
47,666
21,060
8,901
2,896
1,047
7,406
1,787
5,627
670
1,440
23,1372021

49,74820,671
11,339
2,586
1,426
587
826
847
1,405
674
788
8,599

11,651
4,446
1,443
556
473
394
379
362
260
236
218
2,884

11-2 C hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Student" by nationality/
region（People）
Nationality/Region
Total
China
Viet Nam
Nepal
R.O.Korea
Indonesia
TaiwanSri Lanka
MyanmarBangladesh
Mongolia
Others12-1

2018311,505
124,292
72,268
27,101
15,912
6,492
10,237
8,273
5,753
3,467
3,150
34,5602019

337,000
132,41181,00928,987
17,056
7,213
10,603
8,701
6,369
3,948
3,675
37,0282020

345,791
144,264
79,292
29,417
17,732
7,512
10,420
7,408
5,429
3,624
3,908
36,7852021

280,901
125,328
65,653
23,116
12,854
6,279
6,206
5,578
4,371
3,341
3,320
24,855

207,830
96,594
46,403
16,858
8,616
4,686
3,907
3,452
3,207
2,664
2,426
19,017

Year

2017

2018

16,393
835
1,239
494
1,069
77
954
354
285
439
295
10,352

2019

13,389
888
990
598
814
74
749
319
154
290
236
8,277

2020

12,985
721
849
419
806
74
666
286
217
372
207
8,368

2021
2,392
194
153
77
119
6
134
45
62
47
60
1,495

179
39
36
23
16
9
5
5
5
5
5
31

 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Trainee" by nationality/Cregion（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
ThailandIndonesia
The Philippines
Viet Nam
Myanmar
R.O.Korea
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
India
Cambodia
Others224

2017

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Trainee" by nationality/region （People）

Nationality/Region
Total
ThailandIndonesia
The Philippines
Viet Nam
R.O.Korea
MyanmarCambodia
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Pakistan
Others

12-2

Year

Year

2017

2018
1,460
192
175
99
247
52
24
6
9
92
26
538

2019
1,443
251
204
129
226
45
21
9
5
87
17
449

2020
1,177
147
153
107
194
33
18
5
11
50
18
441

2021
174
33
22
3
40
13
4
2
2
1
1
53

145
30
27
21
13
9
6
5
5
4
4
21

Data Section 4
13-1

2017

2018

22,444
915
1,394
1,058
2,851
908
3,867
0
122
785
90
10,45427,752
1,911
2,536
1,299
3,052
1,035
5,150
0
236
873
83
11,57720192020

31,712
1,788
3,449
1,461
3,318
1,032
5,467
0
316
958
89
13,834

2021
7,381
369
1,047
773
710
94
1,138
1
103
257
37
2,852

3,508
598
338
333
274
210
209
180
144
137
108
977

Year

2017

2018

64,776
5,627
10,947
8,547
2,244
5,171
5,005
3,254
1,001
2,443
1,342
19,19562,956
4,897
10,389
8,574
2,070
4,151
4,078
3,177
1,173
1,971
1,329
21,1472019
65,187
6,349
10,600
6,642
1,927
3,965
2,839
3,815
1,832
1,741
1,496
23,981

2020

2021

103,422
41,331
16,894
7,467
3,358
4,450
2,932
4,506
2,695
2,425
1,993
15,371

124,056
59,847
15,569
7,777
6,920
5,508
4,346
4,223
2,798
1,945
1,702
13,421 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Permanent Resident" byCnationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
The Philippines
Brazil
R.O.Korea
Peru
TaiwanThailand
Viet Nam
United States of America
India
Others15-1

YearChanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Designated Activities" bynationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
Viet Nam
China
The Philippines
MyanmarIndonesia
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Cambodia
TurkeyIndia
Others14

Data Section

 hanges in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Designated Activities" by nationality/Cregion（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
The Philippines
Viet Nam
Indonesia
China
United Kingdom
R.O.Korea
Afganistan
Spain
Germany
United States of America
Others13-2

Statistics

Year

2017

2018

749,191
248,873
127,396
112,876
69,39133,891
21,044
19,71914,913
16,922
5,718
78,448771,568
260,963
129,707112,934
71,09433,78921,601
20,142
16,043
17,5806,090
81,625

2019793,164
273,776
131,933
112,440
72,391
33,614
22,235
20,526
17,186
18,043
6,466
84,554

2020

2021

807,517283,281
133,188
112,341
72,47333,37522,265
20,72018,472
18,2396,791
86,372

831,157
296,660
135,300
112,89073,03733,30122,803
20,98520,206
18,773
7,520
89,682

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Spouse or Child of Japanese National" bynationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
The Philippines
United States of America
BrazilChina
Thailand
R.O.Korea
Viet Nam
TaiwanCanadaUnited Kingdom
Others

Year

2017

2018
9,998
1,938
434
2,134
2,216
602
343
454
201
88
116
1,472

10,466
1,825
508
2,490
2,025
636
398
522
215
90
143
1,614

2019
10,694
1,850
561
2,384
2,017
604
400
643
195
118
126
1,796

2020

2021
6,306
1,057
527
657
998
474
317
436
162
108
126
1,444

7,356
1,010
942
885
767
481
393
302
239
191
178
1,968

225

Data Section

Data Section 4
15-2

Statistics

Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Spouse or Child of Japanese
National" by nationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
China
The Philippines
Brazil
R.O.Korea
United States of America
Thailand
Viet Nam
TaiwanUnited Kingdom
FranceOthersYear

2017140,839
31,911
26,401
16,631
13,490
9,497
7,144
3,164
4,296
2,639
1,881
23,785

2018
142,381
30,90026,322
17,66813,053
9,689
7,223
3,837
4,439
2,644
1,997
24,6092019
145,254
30,321
26,69918,427
12,79810,014
7,301
4,601
4,541
2,637
2,097
25,8182020
142,735
28,31326,022
17,225
12,49010,439
7,154
4,983
4,475
2,743
2,195
26,6962021
142,044
26,57525,53816,544
12,103
11,034
7,192
5,435
4,378
2,825
2,282
28,13816-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals with the status of residence of "Long-Term Resident" by nationality/region（People）
Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Nationality/Region
Total
16,30917,146
17,515
5,385
4,677
The Philippines
2,534
2,413
2,345
914
1,709
Brazil9,891
11,214
11,657
2,709
840
China
1,950
1,558
1,508
680
730
Peru
563
587
619
240
260
Viet Nam
235
276
271
192
185
Bolivia
182
142
177
80
104
R.O.Korea
37
53
33
61
89
Indonesia
147
115
145
87
88
Pakistan
93
89
76
35
81
Thailand
115
102
97
62
69
United States of America
17
36
42
32
69
Others
545
561
545
293
453

16-2

 hanges in the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Long-Term Resident" byCnationality/region
（People）

Nationality/Region
Total
BrazilThe Philippines
China
Peru
R.O.Korea
Viet Nam
ThailandBolivia
MyanmarIndonesia
Others

226

Year

2017
179,834
56,47549,77328,033
10,406
7,291
5,448
3,861
2,072
2,433
2,002
12,0402018
192,01465,02152,00828,282
10,647
7,289
5,509
3,922
2,171
2,479
2,107
12,5792019
204,787
73,53654,35928,822
10,936
7,208
5,646
3,997
2,294
2,479
2,238
13,272

2020
201,329
71,832
53,941
27,436
10,779
7,119
5,739
3,985
2,334
2,413
2,260
13,491

2021
198,966
68,492
54,946
26,624
10,784
7,069
5,783
4,024
2,409
2,397
2,347
14,091

Data Section 4

Data Section

Statistics（２）Changes in the Number of New Arrivals and Foreign Residents of the Principal Nationalities/Regions by Status of Residence/Status
1-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals of Chinese nationals by status of residence
Year

Status of Residence
Total
Diplomat
Official
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Temporary Visitor
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Permanent Resident（People）

2017

2018

2019

4,839,034
527
3,468
409
3
4
43
5
44
16
0
921
0
21
72
14

5,952,742
653
6,689
412
8
3
18
5
92
27
0
985
2
10
75
11

7,424,274
938
9,409
425
5
7
15
12
146
51
0
1,417
1
17
68
8

2020
836,088
74
204
160
14
3
1
8
71
34
0
864
0
11
28
5

2021
19,374
96
28
152
0
0
0
2
24
5
0
269
0
3
27
1

5,492

6,785

9,532

2,702

532

2,665
0
1,162
770

2,662
1
1,058
1,099

1,819
32,2530
7
0
0898
4,729,271
41,656
699
8,646
2,851
2,216
1,132
1,950

1,330
32,310
2
92
12
1,050
939
5,837,840
42,151
654
8,147
3,052
2,025
985
1,558

2,890
0
1,586
1,641
2
0
1,592
33,093
3
56
38
2,668
1,060
7,292,654
47,666
575
8,866
3,318
2,017
990
1,508

548
0
39
555
503
0
263
10,786
1
43
17
1,092
182
790,845
20,671
93
3,367
710
998
466
680
50

98
0
8
147
157
0
85
3,420
0
14
3
285
52
4,323
4,446
3
2,271
274
767
398
730
754

（*1） The status of residence of “Nursing Care” was newly established on September 1, 2017 (the same applies in the following table).
（*2） The status of residence of “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” and “Specified Skilled Worker (ii)” were newly established on April 1, 2019 (thesame applies in the following table).

227

Data Section

Data Section 4
1-2

Statistics

Changes in the number of foreign residents of Chinese nationals by status

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Permanent Resident
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Special Permanent Resident

2017

2018

（People）

2019

2020

2021

730,890
1,448
59
80
44
585
4,327
95
135
12,447
10
1,301
426
78

764,720
1,412
61
88
46
757
6,077
163
261
13,397
15
1,510
380
81

813,675
1,411
66
89
49
888
8,094
288
499
14,442
18
1,746
361
79

778,112
1,254
78
88
42
850
9,008
352
666
14,317
16
1,881
312
78

716,606
1,269
64
83
36
783
8,400
332
794
13,748
16
1,845
271
73

75,01081,736

90,766

88,662

81,2215,807
4
101
15,537

5,797
34
111
15,922

1,394
30,701
1,170
44,3020
0
1,024
124,292
209
74,962
10,947
248,873
31,911
14,551
28,033
1,027

1,057
31,121
1,009
43,322
108
1,189
1,049
132,411
191
78,417
10,389260,963
30,90015,59228,282
872

6,129
80
171
16,763100
0
1,235
31,2541,060
44,352
209
4,260
1,119
144,264155
82,382
10,600273,776
30,321
17,002
28,822
825

4,078
183
93
16,4691,575
0225
10,666
1,169
45,755
202
5,724
468
125,32811
74,886
16,894283,281
28,313
16,95627,436
796

2,509
354
74
15,437
3,694
0
86
3,558
645
28,145
108
4,947
260
96,594
1
67,933
15,569296,660
26,575
17,143
26,624755（*） “China” excludes those who were issued the residence cards and special permanent resident certificates and had already been included in“Taiwan” in nationality/region section.

228

Data Section 4
2-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals of R.O.Korean nationals by status of residence

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Diplomat
Official
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Temporary Visitor
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Permanent Resident

Data Section

Statistics（People）

2017

2018

2019

6,946,352
902
2,192
194
10
66
14
2
18
1
0
155
1
16
20
21

7,325,595
943
2,261
202
18
68
9
1
29
8
0
180
1
21
27
10

5,339,079
969
1,744
185
32
74
10
3
26
5
0
174
0
17
17
20

2020
432,707
194
181
58
1
34
6
3
12
0
0
117
0
11
4
19

2021
5,500
184
136
42
0
12
9
1
5
2
0
31
0
9
2
15

3,160

3,833

4,161

1,533

242

713
0
7,116
40

587
0
8,510
27

19
0
0
0
0
0
194
6,918,346
7,326
77
1,460
3,867
343
42
37

7
0
0
0
0
0
216
7,293,178
8,231
74
1,491
5,150
398
62
53

581
1
9,190
39
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
223
5,305,221
8,901
74
1,460
5,467
400
48
33

198
0
1,063
7
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
31
424,382
2,586
6
675
1,138
317
40
61
22

43
0
115
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
2,615
556
9
502
209
393
63
89
198

229

Data Section

Data Section 4
2-2

Statistics

Changes in the number of foreign residents of R.O.Korean nationals by status

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Permanent Resident
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Special Permanent Resident

230

2017

2018

2019

（People）
2020

2021

450,663
911
41
891
46
70
183
22
2
3,095
8
134
155
98

449,634
859
48
900
43
110
290
34
8
3,104
11
142
144
106

446,364
824
54
902
41
135
404
37
13
3,078
12
142
127
118

426,908
768
53
823
37
155
435
45
18
2,819
15
148
117
114

409,855
720
50
757
40
170
438
60
24
2,620
13
141
95
115

21,60324,602

27,38825,76022,652

1,689
1
254
895

1,557
6
219
838

13
0
0
0
0
0
254
15,912
24
12,211
3,961
69,391
13,4902,192
7,291
295,826

1
0
0
0
0
0
218
17,05621
12,061
4,892
71,094
13,053
2,191
7,289
288,737

1,539
21
211
806
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
213
17,732
18
11,8294,889
72,391
12,7982,162
7,208
281,266

1,209
48
163
712
59
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
93
12,854
4
10,573
1,565
72,473
12,4902,132
7,119
274,107

811
70
126
632
108
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
65
8,616
6
9,227
963
73,037
12,1032,057
7,069
267,070

Data Section 4
3-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals of Viet Nam nationals by status of residence

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Diplomat
Official
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Temporary Visitor
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Permanent Resident

2017

2018

2019

Data Section

Statistics（People）
2020

2021

232,706
542
3,106
50
0
27
1
0
0
0
0
21
0
1
4
0

288,354
533
2,955
40
1
25
0
1
2
0
0
34
0
0
7
0

353,633
533
2,852
33
0
32
1
1
2
1
0
32
0
1
7
1

90,876
50
260
18
1
20
4
2
4
0
0
31
0
4
2
0

24,623
89
118
8
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
1
0

4,529

8,623

12,245

6,484

628

576
1
154
134

736
0
244
207

1,265
57,425010
8
60
134,091
24,893
1,069
2,533
1,394
454
132
235

1,214
71,368
5
94
23
3,217
83
165,080
26,125
814
3,443
2,536
522
146
276

954
1
156
200
304
0
1,020
90,150
1
108
95
7,682
81
205,466
21,060
806
5,294
3,449
643
151
271

329
15
6
83
1,816
0
293
41,048
0
47
9
3,708
12
19,73911,339
119
3,654
1,047
436
102
192
2

43
2
1
5
765
0
58
16,392
0
8
0
803
3
375
1,443
16
2,943
338
302
60
185
30

231

Data Section

Data Section 4
3-2

Statistics

Changes in the number of foreign residents of Viet Nam nationals by status

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Permanent Resident
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Special Permanent Resident

232

2017

2018

2019

（People）
2020

2021

262,405
151
1
232
9
55
107
3
3
265
0
12
48
7

330,835
145
0
239
8
70
205
5
7
376
0
31
44
6

411,968
137
0
252
8
79
287
7
6
491
0
43
32
5

448,053
145
0
254
11
77
343
8
7
640
0
69
33
4

432,934
157
0
230
7
67
350
7
12
1,031
0
111
26
8

22,04534,752

51,713

61,18164,200

909
7
3
403

1,082
73
1
537

1,175
57,618853
63,9090
84972,268247
11,112
5,627
14,913
3,164
1,752
5,448
2

1,140
73,0101,105
85,05038
4,156
41
81,009226
15,301
4,897
16,043
3,837
1,889
5,509
3

1,342
296
0
671
901
0
915
89,861
1,447
112,363152
13,98944
79,292
194
21,6096,349
17,186
4,601
2,047
5,646
3

1,159
857
0
692
9,412
0
270
41,294
1,359
144,784
182
20,9901765,65340
25,961
41,331
18,472
4,983
2,083
5,739
3

751
1,906
1
647
31,721
0
56
17,737
737
115,909250
25,874
8
46,40313
31,351
59,847
20,206
5,435
2,089
5,783
4

Data Section 4
4-1

Changes in the number of new arrivals of the Philippine nationals by status of residence

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Diplomat
Official
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Temporary Visitor
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Permanent Resident

2017

2018

2019

Data Section

Statistics（People）

2020

2021

395,808
399
1,418
34
0
37
0
0
1
0
0
9
0
1
2
104

443,236
162
763
38
0
56
0
0
2
0
0
5
0
0
2
143

571,685
283
989
34
2
71
1
0
2
1
0
7
0
3
0
200

96,281
26
108
12
0
29
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
129

5,405
31
81
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
140

1,168

1,573

1,565

534

32

1,081
0
4,259
134

1,357
0
5,245
99

1,382
11,541000043366,191
1,381
494
493
915
1,938
249
2,534

1,254
10,806
5
9
20
491
73
411,912
1,682
598
534
1,911
1,825
258
2,413

1,278
1
5,632
50
1
0
1,199
12,640
0
5
81
1,806
89
536,965
1,486
419
673
1,788
1,850
219
2,345

412
0
1,918
28
46
0
297
4,822
0
3
33
821
12
83,597
585
77
254
369
1,057
158
914
38

27
0
28
6
9
0
21
224
0
0
0
46
1
541
177
23
345
598
1,010
144
1,709
202

233

Data Section

Data Section 4
4-2

Statistics

Changes in the number of foreign residents of the Philippine nationals by status

Year
Status of Residence
Total
Professor
ArtistReligious Activities
Journalist
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)
Business Manager
Legal/Accounting Services
Medical Services
Researcher
Instructor
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/
International Services
Intra-company Transferee
Nursing CareEntertainer
Skilled Labor
Specified Skilled Worker (i)Specified Skilled Worker (ii)Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(a)Technical Intern Training (iii)-(b)Cultural Activities
Student
Trainee
Dependent
Designated Activities
Permanent Resident
Spouse or Child of Japanese National
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident
Long-Term Resident
Special Permanent Resident

234

2017

2018

2019

（People）
2020

2021

260,553
94
0
248
0
18
15
1
1
71
2
42
19
717

271,289
89
0
274
0
21
30
1
1
70
2
55
20
980

282,798
94
0
321
0
24
48
2
1
71
2
80
16
1,315

279,660
96
0
301
0
21
57
1
3
60
2
104
17
1,516

276,615
111
0
236
0
24
54
0
5
60
2
96
13
1,700

5,924

7,083

8,150

8,250

7,784

1,287
0
494
603

1,634
20
650
661

1,198
11,122573
14,916
0
0
26
2,375
99
3,104
8,547
127,396
26,401
5,440
49,77347

1,112
10,681706
17,092
44
686
38
3,010
129
3,386
8,574
129,707
26,322
6,155
52,008
48

1,658
54
644
672
111
0
1,023
12,248777
18,581
155
3,090
49
3,262
107
3,722
6,642
131,933
26,6996,838
54,359
50

1,272
153
384
668
1,059
0
245
4,573
949
20,468
264
5,149
22
2,421
3
3,618
7,467
133,188
26,022
7,315
53,941
51

777
365
164
652
4,607
0
31
350
674
15,613
335
6,183
15
1,600
21
3,732
7,777
135,300
25,5387,800
54,94650

Data Section 4

Statistics

Data Section（３）Status of Implementation of Immigration Examination Using Biometric information (2021)
・Number of the implementation of exclusion order【Nationality/Region】
China
TurkeyThailand
R.O.Korea
Indonesia
The Philippines
United States of America
Malaysia
Viet Nam
TaiwanBangladesh
Others
Total（People）
34
30
25
19
11
11
5
5
3
2
2
9
156

【Airport・Seaport】
Narita Airport
Kansai Airport
Haneda Airport
Chubu Airport
Others
Total（People）
77
32
27
11
9
156

・Number of the implementation of deportation procedures【Nationality】（People）
1
1

Iran
Total

【Airport】（People）
1
1

Kansai Airport
Total（４）Changes in the number of cases of detection of forged or altered documents, etc. (including passports with missing or damaged pages, etc.)（Cases）
Division
Landing
Departure
Total

Year
Passport
Others
Total
Passport
Others
Total
Passport
Others
Total

2017
188
（63）
192
380
（63）
23
（20）
10
33
（20）
211
（83）
202
413
（83）

2018

2019

259（56）173432（56）60（54）
12
72（54）
319（110）185504（110）226（54）
188414（54）64（52）
21
85（52）
290（106）
209
499（106）2020
48（16）
7
55（16）
12（11）
2
14（11）
60（27）
969（27）

2021
6
6
12
1（1）
1
2（1）
7（1）
7
14（1）

（*） The “passports with missing or damaged pages, etc.” means those where there was confirmed evidence of “missing or damaged pages”,“booklet dismantlement” or “peeling off of the permission seal sticker”, but as a result of document forensics or questioning of the bearer in theimmigration procedures, they were judged vaild, and these are represented by the figures in brackets in the table.

Work scene in the Counterfeit Documents
Countermeasures Office2352022 Immigration Control and
Residency Management
November 2022

Immigration Services Agency of Japan〒100-8973 1-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo2022

Immigration Control and
Residency Management