Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
### Chapter 1. Foreign Nationals Entering and Departing from Japan

## Section 1 ☐ Changes in the Number of Foreign Nationals Entering and Departing from Japan

## 1 Foreign Nationals Entering Japan

## (1) Number of Foreign Nationals Entering Japan

The number of foreign nationals entering Japan was only about 18,000 in 1950 when the statistics relating to immigration control first began to be recorded. As a result of the enforcement of the “Peace Treaty with Japan” (Treaty No. 5 of 1952) on April 28, 1952, Japan recovered complete sovereignty and acquired the authority to decide whether or not to grant permission for entry based on the Immigration Control Order. Following which the number of foreign nationals entering Japan began to experience an almost consistent upward trend partly as a result of cheaper and more convenient flights achieved through improvements in international transportation such as through the use of larger jumbo jets, exceeding 1 million in 1978, 2 million in 1984, 3 million in 1990, 4 million in 1996, 5 million in 2000, and 9 million in 2007. In 2015, there was a substantial increase of 5,538,062 (39.1%) from 14,150,185 in 2014 to 19,688,247 marking a record high.

Of the 19,688,247 foreign nationals entering Japan in 2015, the number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan was 17,796,147, which was an increase of 5,407,399 (43.6%) compared to 12,388,748 in 2014, while the number of foreign nationals re-entering Japan was 1,892,100, which was an increase of 130,663 (7.4%) compared to 1,761,437 in 2014.

This is thought to be due to the efforts towards the realization of Japan as a tourism-oriented country by the entire government working together with private sectors encouraging an increase in tourists, which led to an overall increase in the number of foreign nationals entering Japan (Reference 1).

Reference 1 Changes in the number of foreign nationals entering Japan

$ ^{*} $ There are no separate categories for arrivals for 1955 and 1960.
## (2) Number of Foreign Nationals Entering Japan by Nationality/Region

According to the statistics for the number of foreign nationals entering Japan in 2015 by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals came from China at 4,497,238, accounting for 22.8% of the total number of foreign nationals coming to Japan. China was followed by the Republic of Korea (R.O.Korea) at 4,252,389 (21.6%), Taiwan at 3,576,210 (18.2%), China (Hong Kong) at 1,473,141 (7.5%) and the U.S. at 1,062,716 (5.4%) $ ^{*} $ . Of these numbers, Japan's four neighboring countries/regions: China, R.O.Korea, Taiwan and China (Hong Kong) accounted for more than half of the total number of foreign nationals entering Japan at 70.1%. In addition, the top five countries/regions accounted for 75.5% of the total number (Reference 2).

Reference 2 Changes in the number of foreign nationals entering Japan by major nationality/region

Regarding the top five countries/regions, a comparison of the numbers of foreign nationals entering Japan in 2014 and 2015 shows that all of the countries/regions: China at 1,960,667 (77.3%), China (Hong Kong) at 570,661 (63.2%), R.O.Korea at 1,236,277 (41.0%), Taiwan at 711,923 (24.9%), and the U.S. at 141,914 (15.4%), increased.
## (3) Number of Foreign Nationals Entering Japan by Gender and Age

Looking at the number of foreign nationals entering in Japan in 2015 by gender, 9,157,571 were males and 10,530,676 were females. Males accounted for 46.5% of the total while females accounted for 53.5%, and therefore, slightly more foreign females came to Japan than males in 2015.

Next, according to the statistics by age, foreign nationals in their 30s represented the largest age group, accounting for 23.9% of the total number of foreign nationals who entered Japan. Moreover, looking at the numbers for males and females in all of the age groups, one particular characteristic is that the percentages of females were higher in all age groups (Reference 3).

Reference 3 Number of foreign nationals entering Japan by gender and age (2015)

## (4) Number of Foreign Nationals Entering Japan by Purpose of Entry (Status of Residence)

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan in 2015 was 17,796,147. Looking at this Reference by purpose of entry (status of residence), the most common status of residence was “Temporary Visitor” standing at 17,404,987, which accounted for 97.8% of the total number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan, followed by “Student” at 99,556, accounting for 0.6%, “Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)” at 90,307, accounting for 0.5%, and “Entertainer” at 37,155, accounting for 0.2% (Reference 4).
Reference 4 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan by status of residence (People)

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Status of Residence
Total	5,448,019	7,549,998	9,554,415	12,388,748	17,796,147
Diplomat	9,678	10,977	10,215	9,056	9,526
Official	19,563	26,991	26,131	23,844	25,788
Professor	2,420	2,595	2,662	2,709	3,140
Artist	221	281	315	327	360
Religious Activities	737	737	1,291	923	1,030
Journalist	59	51	46	66	81
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)	11
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)	107
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)	18
Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)	0
Business Manager	838	820	632	984	1,352
Legal/Accounting Services	4	4	-	3	0
Medical Services	7	9	11	27	29
Researcher	423	438	437	429	356
Instructor	2,540	2,312	2,366	2,526	3,020
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services	17,690
Engineer	4,178	5,216	5,387	7,662
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	4,658	4,993	5,354	6,608
Intra-company Transferee	5,348	6,126	6,245	7,209	7,202
Entertainer	26,112	34,969	37,096	35,253	37,155
Skilled Labor	4,178	4,910	2,030	2,360	6,421
Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)	5,178	5,876	5,585	6,377	6,680
Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)	60,847	62,039	61,841	76,139	90,307
Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)	-	4	-	2	1
Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)	227	49	17	15	16
Cultural Activities	2,729	3,104	2,947	3,230	3,467
Temporary Visitor	5,180,961	7,246,072	9,247,673	12,052,223	17,404,987
Student	49,936	57,579	70,007	82,460	99,556
Trainee	16,079	17,957	16,486	16,162	15,702
Dependent	18,165	20,653	19,028	20,429	23,118
Designed Activities	12,954	12,659	10,711	10,661	14,980
Spouse or Child of Japanese National	10,766	10,855	9,244	9,114	9,591
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident	1,392	1,877	1,870	2,039	2,007
Long-Term Resident	7,811	9,845	8,788	9,911	12,449
Temporary Refuge	10

$ ^{*1} $ The statuses of residence of “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)”, “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)”, “Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)” and “Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)” were newly established on April 1, 2015.
### A. “Temporary Visitor”

Looking more closely at the number of foreign nationals who newly entered Japan with the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor” in 2015, the number of foreign nationals for the purpose of sightseeing was 15,066,687, accounting for 86.6% of the total number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor”, which was higher in comparison to 81.7% in 2014 (Reference 5). The reason for this is seen to be that, as well as the continuing trend of a weaker yen in 2015, the measures being implemented jointly by the public and private sectors towards the realization of a tourism-oriented country, such as the measures taken for visa waiver and visa deregulation introduced vis-à-vis the ASEAN 5 countries and the increase of flight routes.

The statistics for foreign nationals newly entering for the purpose of sightseeing by nationality/region show that the largest number of foreign nationals came from R.O.Korea at 3,367,616 (22.4%), followed by Taiwan at 3,316,647 (22.0%), China at 3,244,399 (21.5%), and China (Hong Kong) at 1,420,524 (9.4%). The tourists from these top four countries/regions accounted for more than 70% of the total number (Reference 6).
Reference 5 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of "Temporary Visitor" by purpose of entry
Reference 6 Number of foreign nationals newly entering for the purpose of sightseeing by nationality/region (2015)

### B. Foreign Nationals Entering Japan for the Purpose of Employment in Professional or Technical Fields

The number of newly entering foreign nationals with a status of residence for employment in professional or technical fields (excluding the statuses of residence of “Diplomat”, “Official” and “Technical Intern Training” in the Appended Tables I (1) and I (2) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (hereinafter referred to as “Immigration Control Act”)) in 2015 was 77,972, an increase of 10,886 (16.2%) from 2014 (Reference 7).
Reference 7 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering by status of residence for employment in professional or technical fields

(*1) Excludes the statuses of residence of “Diplomat”, “Official”, and “Technical Intern Training” of the Appended Table I (1) and I (2) of the “Immigration Control Act”.

(*2) In accordance with the amendment Act, from April 1, 2015, the statuses of residence of "Engineer" and "Specialist in Humanities/International Services" were combined into "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services".

(*3) For the years from 2011 to 2014, the numbers for “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” are the number combining “Engineer” and “Specialist in Humanities/International Services” respectively.
### C. “Technical Intern Training (i)” (Data Section 4, Statistics (1) 6-1)

The number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (i)” was 96,987 in 2015, an increase of 14,471 (17.5%) from 2014.

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 38,327 (39.5%), followed by Viet Nam at 32,652 (33.7%), the Philippines at 9,918 (10.2%), and Indonesia at 7,289 (7.5%). Those from China had decreased by 5,644 (12.8%) from 2014, while those from Viet Nam, the Philippines and Indonesia had increased by 13,163 (67.5%), 2,921 (41.7%) and 1,401 (23.8%), respectively (Reference 8).

Reference 8 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 4, Statistics (1) 8-1)

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan with the status of residence of “Student” in 2015 was 99,556, an increase of 17,096 (20.7%) when compared to 2014, 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 33.0% of the total, standing at 32,830, followed by Viet Nam at 23,018 (23.1%), and Nepal at 6,712 (6.7%) (Reference 9). Myanmar had increased substantially with an increase of 801 (81.4%) when compared to 2014.
Reference 9 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of “Student” by major nationality/region

### E. Foreign Nationals Entering Japan with a Status of Residence for Resident Activities Based on Personal Status or Position (Data Section 4, Statistics (1) 12-1, 13-1)

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 the status of residence of “Permanent Resident” shall not be granted to foreign nationals at the time of entry (Article 7, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Immigration Control Act).).

In 2015, the number of newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” stood at 9,591, and those with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” stood at 2,007, and while those with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” saw an increase of 477 (5.2%), those with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” saw a decrease of 32 (1.6%) from 2014.

The number of foreign nationals newly entering with the status of residence of “Long-Term Resident” in 2015 had increased by 2,538 (25.6%) to 12,449 from 2014 (Reference 10).

According to the statistics for newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” by nationality/region, the largest number came from China at 2,456 (25.6%). China was followed by the Philippines at 2,050 (21.4%) and Brazil at 1,523 (15.9%).
According to the statistics by nationality/region for newly entering foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Long-Term Resident”, the largest number came from Brazil at 5,781 (46.4%). Brazil was followed by the Philippines at 2,812 (22.6%) and China at 2,094 (16.8%).

Reference 10 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 2015 was 3,527,959, a significant increase of 1,075,840 (43.9%) from 2014.

Among those, the number of foreign nationals who received “Landing Permission for Crew Members” in 2015 was 2,434,617, and the number of foreign nationals who received “Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists” was 1,071,724, which combined accounted for 99.4% of the total number of cases of special landing permission. Moreover, the number of persons who received Permission for “Landing at a Port of Call” was 15,944, which was a substantial decrease of 241,929 (93.8%) when compared to 2014 (Reference 11).

Reference 11 Changes in the number of cases of special landing permission

Year Division	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total	1,915,705	2,204,644	2,165,112	2,452,119	3,527,959
Permission for Landing at a Port of Call	15,058	136,916	76,378	257,873	15,944
Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists	1,071,724
Permission for Landing in Transit	2,296	2,862	2,571	3,372	5,150
Landing Permission for Crew Members	1,897,714	2,064,409	2,085,701	2,190,439	2,434,617
Permission for Emergency Landing	351	370	318	360	434
Landing Permission Due to Distress	286	82	142	74	86
Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge	(10)	5	2	1	4

$ ^{*1} $ The permission of “Landing Permission for Cruise ship Tourists” was newly established on January 1, 2015.

$ ^{*2} $ 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 “Permission for Landing at a Port of Call” in 2015 was 15,944, a substantial decrease of 241,929 (93.8%) from 2014. This decrease is likely due to the establishment of the system of landing permission for cruise ship tourists in January 2015, which means that cruise ship passengers are granted the new permission for cruise ship tourists instead (see Part II, Chapter 4, Section 1, Subsection ③).

## (2) Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists

The system of “Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists” commenced operation in January 2015, and the number of foreign nationals granted “Landing Permission for Cruise Ship Tourists” in the same year was 1,071,724.

## (3) Permission for Landing in Transit

The number of foreign nationals who received “Permission for Landing in Transit” in 2015 was 5,150, an increase of 1,778 (52.7%) from 2014.

## (4) Landing Permission for Crew Members

The number of foreign nationals who received “Landing Permission for Crew Members” in 2015 was
2,434,617, an increase of 244,178 (11.1%) from 2014.

## (5) Permission for Emergency Landing

The number of foreign nationals who received “Permission for Emergency Landing” in 2015 was 434, an increase of 74 (20.6%) from 2014.

## (6) Landing Permission Due to Distress

The number of foreign nationals who received “Landing Permission Due to Distress” in 2015 was 86, an increase of 12 (16.2%) from 2014.

## (7) Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge

The number of foreign nationals who received “Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge” in 2015 was 4, an increase of 3 from 2014.

## 3 Foreign Nationals Leaving Japan

The number of foreign nationals simply leaving Japan without having acquired a re-entry permit was 17,506,732 in 2015, an increase of 5,357,842 (44.1%) from 2014.

Among them, the number of foreign nationals leaving Japan with a period of stay of within 15 days was 16,677,056, which accounted for a significant 95.3% of the total. Further, the number of foreign nationals leaving Japan with a period of stay of within 3 months was 17,340,524 which accounted for 99.1%, of the total (Reference 12).

Reference 12 Changes in the number of foreign nationals simply leaving Japan by period of stay

YearPeriod of Stay	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total	5,414,994	7,403,884	9,395,836	12,148,890	17,506,732
Within 15 days	4,892,797	6,820,277	8,769,160	11,446,502	16,677,056
More than 15 days to 1 month	185,550	244,373	282,118	330,820	425,450
More than 1 month to 3 months	157,804	189,873	196,285	214,865	238,018
More than 3 months to 6 months	25,972	31,638	30,690	34,899	41,322
More than 6 months to 1 year	38,686	32,259	35,711	36,569	39,855
More than 1 year to 3 years	84,909	57,275	56,498	59,692	63,822
More than 3 years	26,308	26,879	24,374	24,476	20,183
Unknown	2,968	1,310	1,000	1,067	1,026
## 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 being granted landing permission by an immigration inspector) in 2015 was 8,166, an increase of 599 (7.9%) from 2014.

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 others while their real purpose of entry was illegal 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 5,034, an increase of 452 (9.9%) from 2014, accounting for 61.6% of the total number of new cases in 2015. 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 attempting to illegally 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 2,015, an increase of 110 cases (5.8%) from 2014, accounting for 24.7% of the total number of new cases in 2015. 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 1,117, an increase of 44 (4.1%) from 2014, accounting for 13.7% of the total number of new cases in 2015. 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 (foreign nationals coming under paragraph (4) of Article 7 of the Immigration Control Act) was zero in 2015, which was the same as for 2014 (Reference 13).

Reference 13 Changes in the number of new cases of hearings for landing by grounds for landing

(Cases)

Year Conditions for Landing	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total	10,954	8,087	6,675	7,567	8,166
Using counterfeit passports or visas (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(i))	1,526	1,583	1,466	1,905	2,015
False landing application (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(ii))	8,633	5,473	4,118	4,582	5,034
Not eligible for the period of stay relating to the application (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(iii))	5	2	0	7	0
Falling under the grounds for denial of landing (Not conforming to Article 7-(1)-(iv))	788	1,028	1,091	1,073	1,117
Not providing personal identification information (Not conforming to Article 7-(4))	2	1	0	0	0
With regard to results of the hearings for landing in 2015 $ (*) $ , the number of cases where landing permission was granted as it was found during the hearing that the foreign national conformed to the conditions for landing was 1,627, a decline of 628 (27.8%) from 2014.

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 3,692, an increase of 962 (35.2%) from 2014. Cases in which foreign nationals filed an objection with the Minister of Justice because they were not satisfied with the findings by the special inquiry officer that they did not meet the conditions for landing numbered 2,374, an increase of 213 (9.9%) from 2014 (Reference 14).

Reference 14 Changes in the processing of the hearings for landing

(Cases)

Year Division	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total	10,993	8,109	6,677	7,567	8,164
Landing permission	2,718	2,179	2,423	2,255	1,627
Expulsion order	2,155	1,606	2,079	2,730	3,692
Filing of objection	5,733	3,901	1,819	2,161	2,374
Withdrawal of the landing application	209	318	286	348	391
Others	178	105	70	73	80

$ ^{*} $ “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 as a result of a hearing for landing or (ii) are ordered to leave Japan as a result of filing an objection with the Minister of Justice.

The number of foreign nationals denied permission for landing in 2015 was 4,612, an increase of 1,032 (28.8%) from 2014.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals denied permission for landing came from Thailand standing at 1,140 (24.7%), followed by Indonesia at 901 (19.5%), and R.O.Korea at 535 (11.6%). These top three countries accounted for 55.9% of the total (Reference 15). Of this number, the reason why Indonesia saw a substantial increase was probably due to the impact of the visa waiver for temporary visitors staying for 15 days or less, which was a measure to deregulate visas taken on December 1, 2014.
Reference 15 Changes in the number of foreign nationals who were denied landing by major nationality/region