Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
## (b) “Entertainer” (Data Section 5, Statistics (1) 5-1)

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer” has been fluctuating since 2010, and the number in 2014 was 35,253, a decrease of 1,843 (5.0%) when compared to 2013, which accounted for the highest percentage out of the statuses of residence for the purpose of employment in professional or technical fields.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of “Entertainer” came from the U.S. (6,498, accounting for 18.4%), followed by the R.O.Korea (5,893, accounting for 16.7%), the Philippines (3,149, accounting for 8.9%), and the U.K. (2,920, accounting for 8.3%). The U.S. overtook R.O.Korea for the first time in 3 years.

## (c) “Skilled Labor” (Data Section 5, Statistics (1) 6-1)

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan with the status of residence of “Skilled Labor”, who may also be referred to as skilled craftsmen in unique foreign industrial fields, has been fluctuating since 2009, and the number in 2014 was 2,360, an increase of 330 (16.3%) when compared to 2013.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Skilled Labor” came from Nepal (927, accounting for 39.3%), followed by India (317, accounting for 13.4%), China (311, accounting for 13.2%) and Thailand (171, accounting for 7.2%) in 2014, and these top four countries accounted for 73.1% of the total number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Skilled Labor”.

### C. “Technical Intern Training (i)” (Data Section 5, Statistics (1) 7-1)

In 2014, the number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (i)” was 82,516, an increase of 15,090 (22.4%) from 2013.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (i)” came from China at 43,971 in 2014, accounting for 53.3% of the total. China was followed by Viet Nam (19,489, accounting for 23.6%), the Philippines (6,997, accounting for 8.5%), and Indonesia (5,888, accounting for 7.1%). Those from China had decreased by 406 (0.9%) from 2013, while those from Viet Nam, the Philippines and Indonesia had increased by 9,359 (92.4%), 2,170 (45.0%) and 1,744 (42.1%), respectively (Chart 7).
Chart 7 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (i)” by major nationality/region

### D. “Student” (Data Section 5, Statistics (1) 9-1)

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan with the status of residence of “Student” in 2014 was 82,460, an increase of 12,453 (17.8%) when compared to 2013, with students from Asia accounting for the top five countries/regions (73.3%).

According to the statistics by nationality/region, those from China accounted for 34.6% of the total, standing at 28,566, followed by Viet Nam (14,862, accounting for 18.0%), and Nepal (8,013, accounting for 9.7%). Nepal had increased substantially with an increase of 3,149 (64.7%) when compared to 2013 (Chart 8).
Chart 8 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of “Student” by major nationality/region

$ ^{*} $ Because the status of residence “Pre-college Student” was consolidated into “Student” on July 1, 2010, the figures in the “Student” section in 2010 represent the sum of “College Student” and “Pre-college Student”.

### E. Foreign Nationals Entering Japan with a Status of Residence for Resident Activities Based on Personal Status or Position (Data Section 5, Statistics (1) 13-1, 14-1)

When foreign nationals enter Japan for resident activities based on their personal status or position, one of three types of statuses of residence; namely, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident”, or “Long-Term Resident” may be granted (Note that no foreign nationals newly entering Japan can obtain the status of residence of “Permanent Resident” because this status is granted only to foreign nationals who have lived in Japan for a certain period of time (Article 7, Paragraph (1) (ii) of the Immigration Control Act)).

In 2014, the number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of a Japanese National” amounted to 9,114, a decrease of 130 (1.4%) from 2013, and those with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident” amounted to 2,039, an increase of 169 (9.0%) from 2013.

The number of foreign nationals newly entering under “Long-Term Resident” increased by 1,123 (12.8%) to 9,911 in 2014, compared to 2013.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of a Japanese National” came from China at 2,665, accounting for 29.2% of the total. China was followed by the Philippines (2,118, accounting
for 23.2%) and Brazil (946, accounting for 10.4%). According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of "Long-Term Resident" came from Brazil at 3,265, accounting for 32.9% of the total. Brazil was followed by the Philippines (2,791, accounting for 28.2%) and China (2,165, accounting for 21.8%) (Chart 9).

Chart 9 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering by status of residence for activities based on personal status or position
## 2 Special Landing Permission

The number of foreign nationals who received special landing permission in 2014 was 2,452,119, a substantial increase of 287,007 (13.3%) from 2013.

Among those, the number of persons who received landing permission for crew members in 2014 reached 2,190,439 which accounted for 89.3% of the total number of cases of special landing permission and represented the largest percentage, followed by the number of persons who received permission for landing at a port of call at 257,873, accounting for 10.5% (Table 2).

Table 2 Changes in the number of cases of special landing permission

Year Division	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Total	1,972,090	1,915,705	2,204,644	2,165,112	2,452,119
Permission for Landing at a Port of Call	24,355	15,058	136,916	76,378	257,873
Permission for Landing in Transit	458	2,296	2,862	2,571	3,372
Landing Permission for Crew Members	1,946,807	1,897,714	2,064,409	2,085,701	2,190,439
Permission for Emergency Landing	381	351	370	318	360
Landing Permission Due to Distress	89	286	82	142	74
Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge	(-)	(10)	5	2	1

$ ^{*} $ Landing permission for temporary refuge has been included in the number of cases of special landing permission since 2012.

The following is the number of cases of special landing permission by category.

## (1) Permission for Landing at a Port of Call

The number of foreign nationals who were granted landing permission at a port of call in 2014 was 257,873, a substantial increase of 181,495 (237.6%) from 2013. This increase is likely due to the increasing number of cruise ships in 2014 landing at a port of call in Japan, especially those coming from China resulting in an increasing number of passengers from cruise ships, who are subject to permission for landing at a port of call (see Part II, Chapter 4, Section 1, subsection 3).

## (2) Permission for Landing in Transit

The number of foreign nationals who received permission for landing in transit in 2014 was 3,372, an increase of 801 (31.2%) from 2013.

## (3) Landing Permission for Crew Members

The number of foreign nationals who received landing permission for crew members in 2014 was 2,190,439, an increase of 104,738 (5.0%) from 2013.

## (4) Permission for Emergency Landing

The number of foreign nationals who received permission for emergency landing in 2014 was 360, an increase of 42 (13.2%) from 2013.

## (5) Landing Permission Due to Distress

The number of foreign nationals who received landing permission due to distress in 2014 was 74, a decrease of 68 (47.9%) from 2013.
## (6) Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge

The number of foreign nationals who received landing permission for temporary refuge in 2014 was 1, a decrease of 1 (50.0%) from 2013.

## 3 Foreign Nationals Leaving Japan

The number of foreign nationals simply leaving Japan without having acquired a re-entry permit was 12,148,890 in 2014, an increase of 2,753,054 (29.3%) from 2013.

Among them, the number of persons leaving Japan with a period of stay of less than 15 days was 11,446,502, which accounted for 94.2% of the total or almost all. Further, the number of persons leaving Japan with a period of stay of less than 3 months was 11,992,187, which accounted for 98.7% of the total (Table 3).

Table 3 Changes in the number of foreign nationals simply leaving Japan by period of stay

(People)

YearPeriod of Stay	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Total	7,865,081	5,414,994	7,403,884	9,395,836	12,148,890
Within 15 days	7,229,477	4,892,797	6,820,277	8,769,160	11,446,502
More than 15 days to 1 month	266,227	185,550	244,373	282,118	330,820
More than 1 month to 3 months	187,725	157,804	189,873	196,285	214,865
More than 3 months to 6 months	29,777	25,972	31,638	30,690	34,899
More than 6 months to 1 year	43,085	38,686	32,259	35,711	36,569
More than 1 year to 3 years	80,770	84,909	57,275	56,498	59,692
More than 3 years	24,976	26,308	26,879	24,374	24,476
Unknown	3,044	2,968	1,310	1,000	1,067
# Article: At the Front Line of Immigration Control Administration (voice of an immigration inspector in charge of immigration examinations) (Asahikawa Branch Office, Sapporo Regional Immigration Bureau: Satoshi Ueda)

The Asahikawa Branch Office of Sapporo Regional Immigration Bureau to which I belong was established on October 6, 2014. This is the newest branch office out of all of the immigration bureaus across the country. This branch office is mainly responsible for three kinds of work: the residence examinations for foreign nationals living in the vicinity of Asahikawa city, the immigration examinations for crew members of vessels entering Rumoi Port and Monbetsu

Port, and the immigration examinations at Asahikawa Airport, which are performed by ten staff members headed by the Director.

Of these duties, the largest share of all of the work is taken up by the immigration examinations at Asahikawa Airport, and owing to new and increased international flights, the number of foreign nationals entering the airport has been steadily increasing (2012: 20,150 foreign nationals, 2013: 42,267 foreign nationals, 2014: 70,380 foreign nationals), and therefore, every day I go from the branch office situated in the center of Asahikawa city to Asahikawa Airport in the city suburbs timing it to the arrival times of the flights.

The vicinity of Asahikawa Airport is the gateway of the sky where you can look straight into Hokkaido's renown image of "nature" such as the peaks of the Daisetsuzan mountain range, which is the largest national park in Japan, and the famous tourist destinations of Furano and Biei where a carpet of flowers spreads out covering an entire side of the hills. Since foreign tourists have high expectations of spending an enjoyable time in Japan, we cannot let down such expectations at the landing examinations which convey the first impression of the Japanese people. Our branch office makes efforts to improve our hospitality by reducing the waiting time through carrying out prompt but accurate examinations and by offering guidance slowly and carefully as much as possible in the native language of the foreign national.

On the other hand, landing examinations also serve the purpose of border measures to prevent the entry of terrorists and criminals. In the past, we used the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) to crosscheck the passenger list against a list of problematic foreign nationals, but owing to an amendment of the Immigration Control Act, where necessary, it has become possible to make a request to the airline companies to provide passenger name record (PNR) thereby making it possible to utilize more information prior to the landing examination.

However, just because there is no problem in the advance examination does not mean that there are no foreign nationals who pose a problem such as those who pose as tourists in order to conceal their aim of employment. Therefore, I intend to continue to conduct the examinations for each and every person adhering faithfully to the basics.
## Section 2 ☐ Judgment for Landing

## 1 Receipt and Processing of Hearings for Landing, and Filing of Objections

The number of new cases of hearings for landing (the number of cases which were assigned to a special inquiry officer on account of a foreign national not having been granted landing permission by an immigration inspector) in 2014 was 7,567, an increase of 892 (13.4%) from 2013.

The most common cases were those in which the foreign national was required to undergo a hearing for landing on suspicion of having

Hearing for landing

submitted a false landing application, such as claiming to be a tourist or a similar status while their real purpose of entry was unlawful work or other illegal activities (not meeting the conditions provided for in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Immigration Control Act). Such cases numbered 4,582, an increase of 464 (11.3%) from 2013 and accounted for 60.6% of the total number of new cases in 2014. This was followed by cases which were assigned on account of the foreign national being suspected of not possessing a valid passport or visa, such as those trying to enter Japan using a forged or altered passport (not meeting the conditions provided for in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Immigration Control Act). Such cases numbered 1,905, an increase of 439 (30.0%) from 2013 and accounted for 25.2% of the total number of new cases in 2014. Furthermore, cases which were assigned to special inquiry officers on suspicion of falling under one of the grounds for denial of landing (not meeting the conditions provided for in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (iv) of the Immigration Control Act) numbered 1,072, a decrease of 19 (1.7%) from 2013, accounting for 14.2% of the total number of new cases in 2014. In addition, the number of foreign nationals refusing to provide the immigration inspector with their personal identification information, which became mandatory from November 20, 2007 (persons coming under paragraph (4) of Article 7 of the Immigration Control Act) was zero in 2014, who was handed over to a special inquiry officer, the same as in 2013 (Table 4).

Table 4 Changes in the number of new cases of hearings for landing by grounds for landing

(Cases)

Year Conditions for Landing	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Total	7,365	10,954	8,087	6,675	7,567
Using counterfeit passports or visas (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(i))	1,116	1,526	1,583	1,466	1,905
False landing application (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(ii))	5,105	8,633	5,473	4,118	4,582
Not eligible for the period of stay relating to the application (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(iii))	6	5	2	0	7
Falling under the grounds for denial of landing (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(iv))	1,137	788	1,028	1,091	1,073
Not providing personal identification information (Not conforming to Article 7-(4))	1	2	1	0	0
With regard to the processing of the hearings for landing in 2014 $ ^{*} $ , the number of cases where landing was permitted as it was found during the hearing that the foreign national conformed to the conditions for landing permission was 2,255, a decrease of 168 (6.9%) from 2013.

In addition, cases in which foreign nationals were ordered to leave Japan because they were found not to meet the conditions for landing at the hearing for landing by a special inquiry officer and who later submitted to the findings numbered 2,730, an increase of 651 (31.3%) from 2013. Cases in which foreign nationals filed an objection with the Minister of Justice because they were not satisfied with the finding by the special inquiry officer that they did not meet the conditions for landing numbered 2,161, an increase of 342 (18.8%) from 2013 (Table 5).

Table 5 Changes in the processing of the hearings for landing

(Cases)

Year Division	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Total	7,304	10,993	8,109	6,677	7,567
Landing permission	2,903	2,718	2,179	2,423	2,255
Deportation order	2,662	2,155	1,606	2,079	2,730
Filing of objection	1,319	5,733	3,901	1,819	2,161
Withdrawal of the landing application	231	209	318	286	348
Others	189	178	105	70	73

$ ^{*} $ “Others” includes cases where the jurisdiction has changed or the application was withdrawn owing to the departure, etc.

## ② Foreign Nationals Falling Under Any of the Grounds for Denial of Landing

In principle, foreign nationals denied permission for landing are those who (i) are ordered to leave Japan after a hearing for landing or (ii) are ordered to leave Japan after the results of filing an objection with the Minister of Justice.

The number of foreign nationals denied permission for landing in 2014 was 3,580, an increase of 721 (25.2%) from 2013.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals denied permission for landing came from Thailand standing at 1,039, accounting for 29.0% of the total, followed by R.O.Korea standing at 622, accounting for 17.4% and Turkey standing at 328, accounting for 9.2%. Those top three countries accounted for 55.6% of the total (Chart 10). Of this number, the reason why Thailand saw a substantial increase was probably due to the impact of the visa waiver for temporary visitors staying for less than 15 days, which was a measure to deregulate visas taken on July 1, 2013.
Chart 10 Changes in the number of foreign nationals who were denied landing by major nationality/region
## 3 Special Permission for Landing

Cases in which the Minister of Justice granted special permission for landing to foreign nationals in 2014 numbered 1,746, an increase of 304 (21.1%) from 2013 (Table 6).

Table 6 Changes in the number of objections filed, and decisions by the Minister of Justice

(Cases)

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Division
Filing of Objection (*)	1,326	5,754	3,910	1,871	2,179
Decisions	With reason (Landing Permission)	18	18	22	21	22
Without reason	Order to leave Japan	291	303	333	340	366
Special Permission for Landing	975	5,416	3,440	1,442	1,746
Withdrawal	21	8	63	50	33
Outstanding	21	9	52	18	12

$ ^{*} $ “Filing of Objection” includes the number of outstanding cases of the previous year.

## Section 3 ☐ Pre-entry Examination

## 1 Advance Consultation for Visa Issuance

The number of processed cases of advance consultation for visa issuance was 4,741 in 2014, showing an increase of 106 (2.3%) from 2013.

## ② Certificate of Eligibility

In 2014, the number of processed cases of applications for the issuance of a certificate of eligibility was 290,119, an increase of 7,691 (2.7%) from 2013.

The advance consultation for issuance of visas together with the examination of certificates of eligibility is jointly called pre-entry examinations. In recent years, the number of processed cases of applications for the issuance of a certificate of eligibility has steadily accounted for most of the total number of processed cases of pre-entry examinations (Table 7).

Table 7 Changes in the number of cases of pre-entry examinations

(Cases)

Year Division	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Advance consultation for issuance of a visa	4,882	4,403	4,910	4,635	4,741
Application for certificate of eligibility	248,523	238,270	266,273	282,428	290,119

$ ^{*} $ Please note that the figures (number of cases) shown in “Advance consultation for issuance of a visa” in the 2011 and 2012 versions of Immigration Control Report were incorrect and should be changed to read as follows:

(Correct) 2010: 4,882, 2011: 4,403

(Incorrect) 2010: 4,615, 2011: 6,325
### Chapter 2. Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan

## Section 1 ☐ Number of Foreign Residents in Japan

## Number of Foreign Residents in Japan

While the number of foreign nationals entering Japan shows the "flow" of foreign nationals, the number of foreign nationals residing in Japan comprises the statistics on "stock" to show how many foreign nationals reside in Japan at a certain point in time.

At the end of 2014, the number of mid to long-term residents (see Data Section 1, Section 4, subsection 1) in Japan was 1,763,422, and the number of special permanent residents was 358,409. Adding these two numbers together, the total number of foreign residents was 2,121,831, an increase of 55,386 (2.7%) compared to the end of 2013.

At the end of 2014, the number of foreign residents as a percentage of the total population of Japan (127,083,000) was 1.67%, which was 0.05 point higher than 1.62% at the end of 2013 (Chart 11).

Chart 11 Changes in the number of foreign residents, and changes in the number of foreign residents as a percentage of the total population of Japan

$ ^{*1} $ These numbers are based on the statistics as at the end of December each year.

$ ^{*2} $ The numbers until 1985 represent the number of alien registrations, the numbers between 1990 and 2011 represent the sum of the number of alien registrations who stayed in Japan with the status of residence eligible for mid to long-term residents and the number of special permanent residents, and the numbers from 2012 onwards represent the number of foreign residents adding together mid to long-term residents and special permanent residents.

$ ^{*3} $ The “percentage of the total population of Japan” is calculated based on the population as of October 1 every year taken from the “Population Estimates” and the “Population Census” of the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

## ② Number of Foreign Residents by Nationality/Region

According to the statistics of the number of foreign residents by nationality/region at the end of 2014, China stood at 654,777, accounting for 30.9% of the total. China was followed by Korea (501,230, or 23.6%), the Philippines (217,585, or 10.3%), Brazil (175,410, or 8.3%), and Viet Nam (99,865, or 4.7%).

According to the changes in the number of foreign residents by year, while the number of foreign residents from China had been decreasing since 2011, it increased by 5,699 (0.9%), at the end of 2014 compared to the end of 2013. The number of foreign residents from Korea has continued to see a decreasing trend, a decrease of 18,510 (3.6%) at the end of 2014 compared to the end of 2013. As for other countries, the number from the Philippines increased by 8,402 (4.0%) at the end of 2014 compared to 2013, Brazil has continued to decrease since its peak at the end of 2007, a decrease of 5,907 (3.3%) at the end of 2014 compared to the end of 2013, and Viet Nam has continued to be on the increase since 2010, and increased substantially by 27,609 (38.2%) at the end of 2014, compared with the end of 2013 (Chart 12).