Japan Raises Permanent Residency Fee Twenty-Fold

Japan raised permanent residency fees twenty-fold to 200,000 yen and introduced new income, pension, and Japanese-language requirements, NewZimbabwe.com reported. Long lines formed outside immigration offices earlier this week as applicants sought to file before the higher fees and stricter eligibility rules took effect. Labor advocates and business groups criticized the policy as a barrier to foreign workers and long-term residents, warning that the tightening could shrink Japan's migrant workforce and accelerate labor shortages in care, manufacturing, and agriculture. The government framed the measures as cost recovery and border management rather than exclusion. The strategic vulnerability is a demographic crisis colliding with a more restrictive residency framework, potentially reducing the foreign labor supply that many sectors need.