The number of foreign nationals residing in Japan has reached a new record, standing at just over 4.28 million at the end of June. At the same time, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is tightening the rules. Since October 1, applying for permanent residency now costs twenty times more than before, and new requirements for income, pension, and language skills are being gradually introduced.

According to figures from the Japanese immigration authority, there were 4,281,026 foreign nationals in the country as of June 30. This is 155,631 more than at the turn of the year, an increase of 3.8 percent in six months. Short-term visitors staying less than three months are not included. Foreign residents now make up about 3.5 percent of the population.

Chinese nationals are the largest group with 941,031 people, followed by Vietnamese, South Koreans, and Filipinos. The fastest-growing groups are from Indonesia, Nepal, and Myanmar. In just the first half of the year, more than 41,000 Indonesians, almost 34,000 Nepalese, and 29,000 people from Myanmar were added.

The largest group, just over 961,000 people, already have permanent residency. Next come highly educated specialists, students, and workers in the country’s trainee program. The category for so-called specified skilled workers, which was created to address labor shortages, grew by nearly 54,000 people in six months and now comprises 444,256 people.

Twenty Times More Expensive to Stay for Good

New fees for residence permits came into effect on October 1. Previously, it cost 6,000 yen to extend or change a permit. Now the price depends on the length of the permit. A one-year permit costs 33,000 yen when applying on-site, and a permit valid for five years or more costs 75,000 yen.

The fee for permanent residency has increased from 10,000 to 200,000 yen. Individuals with very limited finances or those requiring special humanitarian consideration may receive a reduced fee. Authorities justify the increase by citing rising administration costs for immigration and state that foreign residents should cover a fair share of those expenses.

Income, Pension and Japanese Language Requirements

At the same time, guidelines for permanent residency have been tightened. Applicants must have stable income at the level of the average for Japanese households of the same size, and expected pension should correspond to what an employee receives after 30 years in the public pension system. The income requirement is already in effect. From April 2027, knowledge of Japanese and familiarity with the country’s laws and social rules will also be considered in the assessment.

Previous tightenings have already had an impact. After requirements for business manager visas were raised in October last year, only 635 new holders of this visa came to the country during the first half of the year – 81 percent fewer than the year before. The number of people who remained in the country after their permit expired has at the same time dropped to about 65,000.

Immigration Became an Election Issue

Immigration has become one of the hottest political issues in Japan since the anti-immigration party Sanseito made major gains in the upper house elections in summer 2025 under the slogan “Japan First.” Takaichi, who took office in October the same year, has made the issue one of her most important and established a special ministerial post for coexistence with foreign nationals.

Prior to the fee increases, she wrote on X that the government is aware that with the rising number of foreign residents, there are citizens who feel concerned and perceive injustices. The government will decide by March on new fundamental policies for the admission of foreigners, and one of the issues is whether the number of foreign residents should be limited – either as a share of the population or with caps on individual residence permit categories.