Management of Foreign Nationals consisting of the Cabinet Secretariat and other related government ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, under the Ministerial Conference to Discuss Countermeasures against Crime on July 2005. This team carried out a study and submitted a report to the above ministerial conference on July 2007. In addition, the Three-Year Plan for Promotion of Regulatory Reform, which was decided by the Cabinet on June 2007, included “reorganization of the alien registration system” in the item “Reinforcement of the System for Monitoring Foreign Residents after Entry”, and stated that the related bill would be submitted in an ordinary session of the Diet in 2009 at the latest.

On February 2007, the Ministry of Justice requested the Discussion Meeting on Immigration Control Policy, a private consultative group for the Minister of Justice, to study a new system, and then the meeting submitted a report entitled “Proposal Concerning the New System of Residence Management”, to the Minister of Justice on March 2008 (http://www.moj.go.jp/NYUKAN/nyukan44-11.pdf).

Since April 2008, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Justice jointly held the Discussion Meeting on the Alien Registration System, from which a report was released in December of the same year.

On a basis of the above background, the Ministry of Justice drastically overhauled how a new system of residence management, along with the alien registration system, should be, and finally decided to reform the existing information collecting system under the Immigration Control Act and the Alien Registration Act with the aim of establishing a new system to properly and continuously collect information necessary for management of foreign nationals who are residing in Japan for a medium to long term.

The new system is expected to facilitate the following processes for foreign nationals residing in Japan for a medium to long term: (1) Issuance of a residence card after obtaining some permits, such as landing permission, permission for extension of period of stay, and permission for changes of status of residence; (2) Report of changes during the period of stay from foreign nationals to the Minister of Justice; (3) Provision of information about foreign nationals from organizations at which they study or receive training to the Minister of Justice. This will enable the Minister of Justice to more precisely and continuously keep the information related to the residence conditions of foreign nationals. Information about the situation of foreign nationals residing for the medium to long term, which will be precisely kept under the system, will be reflected in the Basic Residents' Register for Foreign Nationals in municipalities, which will be newly established in accordance with the Act for Partial Amendment of the Basic Residents' Registration Act. As a result, these foreign nationals will be able to receive enhanced administrative services. Along with the introduction of the system to keep precise information, provisions to enhance convenience for these foreign nationals, including extension of the maximum period of stay and alleviation of the re-entry permit system, will be established.