Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
## Chapter 5 More Appropriate and Smoother Admission of International Students

## Section 1 ♦ More Appropriate and Smoother Implementation of Immigration and Residence Examination of International Students

Admission of international students in post-secondary education is meaningful in many aspects, such as strengthening of international goodwill, deepening of mutual understanding and friendship by creation of a human network, international contributions through human resource development, creation of an international campus environment in universities, and acceptance of human resources who will play a part in economic activities in Japan. The “New Growth Strategy”, decided by the Cabinet in June 18, 2010, also set a “plan to accept 300,000 foreign talented students into Japan”, and the whole government is making an effort to realize the goal.

For the purpose of realizing the plan, immigration control authorities continue efforts to ensure proper residence management in cooperation with educational institutions, and to promote more appropriate and smoother admission of international students in post-secondary education. Specifically, with respect to applications made by educational institutions that do not give rise to overstayers or illegal workers by proper enrollment control, the documents to be submitted should be drastically simplified. On the other hand, with respect to applications made by educational institutions that give rise to large numbers of overstayers or illegal workers, strict examination needs to be carried out as in the past.

## Section 2 ♦ State of Implementation of Measures on Acceptance of College Students

The Immigration Bureau has implemented proper and smooth implementation of immigration and residence examination as described above, while taking the following measures on acceptance of foreign students in 2010.

## I ntegration of the Two Categories of Status of Residence, "College Student" and "Pre-college Student"

In recent years, the number of overstayers with the status of residence of “Pre-college Student” has been on a downward trend, and the characterization of the status of residence of “Pre-college Student” as a preparatory step to the status of residence of “College Student” has become commonly accepted. In view of such circumstances, it was decided to integrate the two categories of status of residence to be granted to foreign nationals who receive education with “Student”. Such integration was contained in the revised Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act, which was promulgated in July 2009 and enforced on July 1, 2010. (Chart 23 and Table 51)
Chart23: Changes in the number and percentage of overstayers who entered Japan with the status of residence of “College Student” and “Pre-college Student”

(*) Since July 1, 2010, a part of the revised Immigration Control Act has been enforced. In association with the integration of the two categories of status of residence, "College Student" and "Pre-college Student" into the one category "College Student", the number of overstayers with the new status of residence, "College Student", in January 2011 corresponds to the total number of overstayers with the conventional statuses of residence, "College Student" and "Pre-college Student". In order to understand the composition ratio of overstayers with the status of residence of "College Student" from 2006 compared to the ratio of the new status, the numbers of overstayers with the status of residence of "College Student" and "Pre-college Student" in each year from January 2006 to January 2010 were respectively summed up.

Table 51: Changes in the number and percentage of overstayers who entered Japan with the status of residence of “College Student” and “Pre-college Student”

Date Division	January 1 2006	January 1 2007	January 1 2008	January 1 2009	January 1 2010	January 1 2011
Total number of overstayers	193,745	170,839	149,785	113,072	91,778	78,488
College Student	14,935	12,729	10,978	8,276	5,842	4,322
Percentage of total (\%)	7.7	7.5	7.3	7.3	6.4	5.5

$ ^{*} $ The number of overstayers with the status of residence, “College Student” includes the number of foreign nationals whose status of residence was “Pre-college Student” under the previous Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which had been enforced before July 1, 2010, at the time when they became considered overstayers.

## 2 Review of Permission to Engage in Activity Other than That Permitted under the Status of Residence Previously Granted

Along with the integration of two categories of status of residence, it was decided to comprehensively permit international students to engage in the activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted up to 28 hours a week, in principle.

The Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act was revised to stipulate that permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted shall not be required for activities as a teaching assistant or research assistant in a university, etc., in receipt of remuneration. The revised ordinance was enforced on July 1, 2010.
## Chapter 6 Establishment of a Special Exception to the Period of Stay for Foreign Nationals Applying for Permission to Extend period of Stay etc

In case an application of permission for extending period of stay or for changing status of residence is made by the expiration date of period of stay, but procedures are not completed by the expiration date, the foreign national is allowed by the amended Immigration Control Act to stay with the status of residence either until the procedure is completed or for two months after the expiration date of period of stay even after the period of stay is expired, whichever comes earlier (implemented on July 1, 2010).

In addition, if a foreign national desires to re-enter Japan within the relevant period, he or she is permitted to enter, provided that he or she apply for permission of re-entry.
## Chapter 7 Efforts of the Immigration Bureau Concerning the Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake (the “3.11 Earthquake”), which occurred on March 11, 2011, was one the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Japan. The earthquake and subsequent tsunamis (huge tidal waves) and accidents in a nuclear power plant caused an unprecedented catastrophe all over eastern Japan around the Pacific Coast in the Tohoku area.

The Immigration Bureau took the following measures for protecting rights and benefits of foreign national victims affected by the earthquake.

## Section 1 ☐ Measures concerning the Procedures of Immigration and Residence Associated with Disaster Occurrence

## 1 Extension of Period of Stay Based on the Act on Special Measures concerning Preservation of Rights and Interests of Victims of Specified Disaster

The Immigration Bureau took measures for foreign nationals subject to notification by the Ministry of Justice, based on Article 3, Paragraph (2) of the law regarding special measures for protecting rights and benefits of victims of specified disasters (hereinafter called the Act on Special Measures), are all allowed to postpone the expiry date of the period of stay until August 31, 2011 without taking any particular measures.

(Foreign Nationals Subject to the Notification)

The foreign nationals who fall under the following categories:

(1) The foreign nationals whose period of stay will be terminated by August 30, 2011 due to administrative measures (including landing permission) taken before the occurrence of the 3.11 Earthquake.

(2) The foreign nationals “residing in districts in Aomori Prefecture, districts in Iwate Prefecture, districts in Miyagi Prefecture, districts in Fukushima Prefecture, or districts in Ibaraki Prefecture (hereinafter called designated districts), or “those residing in the designated districts as registered in their alien registration cards approved in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph (1) of the Alien Registration Act”.

Even if foreign nationals are not covered by the Notification, the Immigration Bureau took measures for extension of the expiration date of stay until August 31, to the people who have been affected by the 3.11 Earthquake and have the expiration date of period of stay by August 30, provided that they shall be covered under Article 3 of the Special Measures Act.

Additionally, the bureau took measures for extension of the relevant expiration date under Article 3, Paragraph (3) of the Special Measures Act, in line with individual cases, if foreign nationals were not able to leave Japan or apply permission due to the 3.11 Earthquake
## ② Implementation of Prompt Acceptance of Rescue Teams from Foreign Countries, Regions, and International Organizations

From March 12 to May 30, rescue teams of approximately 1,100 people from 21 countries and regions including the U.S., Russia, France, and South Korea entered Japan from Narita Airport, Haneda Airport, Misawa Air Base, and Yokota Air Base. For the purpose of landing examination of rescue teams, the Immigration Bureau used simple and prompt methods, including no requirement of landing permission stamp on their passports by issuing temporal landing permission cards prepared by immigration inspectors in advance.

## 3 Implementation of Prompt Embarkation Procedure for Foreign Nationals Who Desire to Leave Japan due to the Earthquake

## (1) Re-entry Permission

After the 3.11 Earthquake, the peak number of applications of re-entry permission to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau (including branches and local offices) in a peak day reached approximately 20,000, which is approximately 12 times as much as in an average day. Under such a high number of applications, immigration inspectors of all examination divisions handled the work in respective offices. Meanwhile, even immigration control officers formed applicants waiting for procedures into lines and guided them. Thus the entire bureau responded to various affairs from early morning to the middle of the night, while promptly handling the application procedure by simplifying description to application forms as much as possible in order to further reduce the processing time.

## (2) Embarkation Procedure (including embarkation after re-entry permission)

In Narita Airport, the peak number of the foreign nationals who took the embarkation procedure in a day reached approximately 20,000, which was twice as many as that in the same time last year. With this in mind, the Immigration Bureau dispatched the staff members from the head office of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau and the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center to Narita, Haneda, Niigata Airports for the purpose of conducting embarkation examinations in the airports during the three consecutive holidays from March 19 to March 21. The examination procedure was handled without any confusion.

## 4 Measures for Re-entry to Japan of International Students and Training and Technical Interns Who left Japan without Re-entry Permission due to the Earthquake

If the foreigners, who have left Japan, re-enter Japan without re-entry permission, certificates of eligibility are usually required, but the Immigration Bureau simplified the re-entry permission procedure as an exception for international students, who left Japan promptly after the earthquake without re-entry permission, after consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that such
students might obtain visas at Japanese Embassies and Consulates as short a time as possible.

The Immigration Bureau also took measures for the trainees and technical interns who left Japan promptly after the earthquake without re-entry permission to obtain visas at Japanese Embassies and Consulates, if they desired to continue the training and technical intern training, which they had obtained, after re-entry to Japan, provided that the conditions of the environment to implement relevant training and internship were met, and they were specially permitted to enter Japan provided that the continuity of their activities were recognized in landing examination.

### Section 2 ☐ Cooperation for Safety Confirmation of Foreign Nationals Who Might Have Affected by the 3.11 Earthquake

## 1 Providing Reports Concerning Foreign Reports in Affected Regions

The Immigration Bureau provided information on registered foreign nationals $ ^{*} $ in affected regions $ ^{**} $ , who might have affected by the 3.11 Earthquake, for the purpose of the safety confirmation of foreign nationals who might have affected by the 3.11 earthquake, on the request of local governments and foreign diplomatic missions in Japan.

As of May 9, 2011, the Immigration Bureau provided information on 58 cases concerning 76,762 registered foreign nationals. The organizations, which the relevant information was provided, were local governments of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures and foreign diplomatic missions in Japan. Relevant information on a total of 32,411 registered foreign nationals was notified each of three prefectures, while relevant information on a total of 44,350 registered foreign nationals was sent to the 54 missions for countries and areas.

If such local governments or foreign diplomatic missions requested to know the information on whether such registered people had left Japan or not, the Immigration Bureau responded on it.

## 2 Response on Embarkation for the Purpose of Safety Confirmation

The Immigration Bureau responded to inquiries for embarkation for Japanese people and registered foreign nationals in the municipalities under the Disaster Relief Act in Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki Prefectures, for the safety confirmation of relevant people, if their family, relatives, and other related people requested inquiry.

As of May 9, 2011, the Immigration Bureau responded to 52 cases of inquiries for embarkation concerning a total of 287 people.
## Section 3 ☐ Cooperation for Alien Registration

The Immigration Bureau cooperated with relevant organizations for the following alien registration.

At first, the Immigration Bureau notified all municipalities throughout Japan on measures that if foreign nationals had resided in affected areas, and if they requested for relevant municipalities to issue certificates of registered matters of alien registration records at evacuation centers, the municipalities, where such foreign nationals stayed, were permitted to issue provisional cards instead of relevant certificates as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Immigration Bureau prepared alien registration records for all registered foreign nationals in relevant municipalities based on the data from the Ministry of Justice, for the purpose of support of reproduction of municipal alien registration records by municipalities that lost alien registration records, as well as support of safety confirmation of affected people, and the bureau provided relevant records for relevant municipalities, if they requested them.

For the purpose of support of municipalities which had significant difficulty in usual activities in alien registration due to the damage caused by the disaster, the Immigration Bureau decided to cover a part of tasks concerning alien registration usually conducted by such municipalities for a certain period. If any municipality requested for the bureau to cover it, the bureau immediately carried out the tasks $ ^{*} $ .

In addition, the Immigration Bureau made an effort to notify and promote municipalities not to hesitate to ask and consult with the bureau about wide range of issues, so that such municipalities could consult with the bureau at ease even if no person in charge of alien registration was able to respond to foreign nationals due to the disaster.

## Section 4 ☐ Providing Information for Foreign Nationals Affeted by the Earthquake

The Immigration Bureau implemented more positive public relations activities, based on the recognition that it was important to promptly provide necessary information for foreign nationals affected by the 3.11 Earthquake particularly from a standpoint of supporting such victims.

In particular, for the purpose of responding to consultations on various procedures including re-entry permission, the Immigration Bureau established inquiry counters exclusively used for affairs concerning the 3.11 Earthquake at all regional immigration bureaus in Japan. The bureau also established telephone consultation services with exclusive lines, responding to inquiries on the phone at weekends as well.

The Immigration Bureau also established a website titled “Immigration Bureau Great East Japan Earthquake Special Homepage” and posted information on measures of support for affected people in multiple languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese), including extension of period of stay for foreign nationals living in affected areas and inquiries on embarkation of foreign
nationals who had resided in affected areas and information on various types of support for foreign embassies in Japan and local governments.

Furthermore, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration(IOM), the Immigration Bureau provided necessary information. For example, the staff members of the Immigration Bureau went to the affected areas with the IOM staff and provided information, by distributing leaflets concerning measures of support for affected people taken by the bureau.
## Chapter 8 Measures against Illegal or False Foreign Residents in Japan

## Section 1 ◆ Implementation of Measures against Illegal Foreign Residents

## 1 Past Efforts to Reduce the Number of Illegal Residents

Based on the “Five-Year Plan for Halving the Number of Illegal Residents” launched in 2004, each regional immigration bureau has actively promoted various measures, including strict implementation of landing/residence examination, aggressive public relations activities regarding illegal employment, strengthened detection by detection officer units, etc., wider application of custody transfer in accordance with Article 65 of the Immigration Control Act, and encouragement of appearance of illegal residents under the departure order system. As a result, the number of illegal residents, which was about 250,000 at the start of the plan, decreased to about 130,000 as of January 2009, and its goal was almost accomplished.

Based on the “Action Plan 2008 for the Realization of a Society Resistant to Crime” aiming to “create a society that generates no illegal residents, etc. under the new system of residence management”, the Immigration Bureau has continued efforts to further reduce the number of illegal residents, which decreased to approximately 90,000 - 100,000 as of January 1, 2011.

## 2 Efforts to Further Reduce the Number of Illegal Residents

The Immigration Bureau thinks that the number of illegal residents in Japan has steadily decreased due to past efforts. However, it is estimated that there are still approximately 90,000–100,000 illegal residents in hiding, so the bureau is making the following efforts to further reduce the number of illegal residents.

## (1) Strengthened Detection

The Immigration Bureau has established “detection officer units” that are to engage full-time in detecting offenders of the Immigration Control Act in the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau (six units), Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau (two units), Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau (two units) and Yokohama District Immigration Office (one unit), which are located in large city areas with many offenders. In addition, the Immigration Bureau has improved the ability to detect illegal residents, and is promoting joint detection by strengthening cooperation with the police.

However, it has become obvious that illegal residents tend to exist in smaller groups separately in wider areas, and the number of those who are detected at one site has been decreasing. Therefore, the bureau is working to promote efficient detection by making more effective use of information provided on illegal residents.
## (2) Improvement of Environment for Voluntary Appearance

With the aim of encouraging illegal residents hiding in various parts of the country to appear at the immigration office voluntarily, the Immigration Bureau is taking the following measures: (i) introduction of the departure order system; (ii) revision of the guidelines on special permission to stay in Japan and publication of such cases; and (iii) public relations to encourage voluntary appearance at the immigration office.

The departure order system is a system under which overstayers satisfying certain requirements, such as those who appear at the immigration office voluntarily to swiftly leave Japan, are allowed to leave Japan in accordance with simplified procedures without being detained, as an exception to the preparatory detention policy. Approximately 5,000 people were allowed to leave the country under this system in 2010 (see Item 5, Section 2, Chapter 2, Part I).

On the other hand, “Guidelines on Special Permission to Stay in Japan” which were decided and announced in 2006 were revised in July 2009 in order to increase the transparency of their operation. The revised guidelines show that if illegal residents appear at the immigration office voluntarily, it is more likely that they will obtain special permission to stay.

The Immigration Bureau is also taking measures to publicize the system and the revised guidelines on special permission to stay in Japan by conducting active public relations activities regarding the departure order system, improving environment for voluntary appearance, and aiming to encourage illegal residents to voluntarily appear at the immigration office $ ^{*} $ .

## Section 2 ◆ Implementation of Measures against False Foreign Residents

## 1 Countermeasures against False Residents, etc

The term “false resident” is referred to as foreign nationals who falsify their status of residence and purpose of stay by forging or alternating documents or abusing fraudulent documents in the form of fake marriages, fake college students, fake employment, etc., and disguise themselves as falling under any of the legitimate statuses of residence to work illegally. Measures against them have become an important issue in immigration control administration, as well as measures against illegal residents. Although they practically appear to be “legal residents” and precise data on their actual number has not been obtained, there is concern over an increase of false residents who choose to falsify themselves as a means to orchestrate entry and stay in Japan.

The existence of false residents abusing the status of residence system cannot be overlooked, and may shake the foundation of immigration control administration in our country. Therefore, the Immigration Bureau is striving to strengthen measures against them. The Immigration