Overview
- Campaigners submitted a Change.org petition to the Immigration Services Agency this week seeking a review of the stricter business manager visa rules, with nearly 60,000 signatures.
- Manish Kumar, who spoke Wednesday at a public meeting, said his visa renewal was denied last year and that his Japan-born children speak only Japanese.
- Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda defended the overhaul as a curb on misuse, citing cases of shell firms and saying the change reduced visas used as a route to migration.
- Applications for business manager visas have fallen about 96% since the tighter rule took effect in October 2025, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.
- The revised framework lifts the capital requirement to 30 million yen from 5 million and adds tougher checks, a local hire expectation and language proficiency, which small eateries say they cannot meet.