Japan to raise residency fees and income bar, threatening foreign labor supply

Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan intends to overhaul its permanent-residency system by raising visa fees by a factor of twenty and imposing an income floor above the current average household income of 5.8 million yen. The change would disqualify most foreign employees in low-wage fields, including the 90,000 foreign caregivers who help offset an estimated 250,000-person shortage in the aging nation’s care sector.

Researchers such as Reiko Ogawa stress that many care facilities depend on these workers to remain operational, while recruiters note continued growth in foreign staffing across manufacturing, tourism and IT. The move aligns with a conservative swing in immigration policy driven by rising anti-immigrant sentiment and competition from the nationalist Sanseito party. Rural areas already losing population, like Akita, risk further decline as local governments struggle to attract overseas labor. Critics argue the reforms could harm food self-sufficiency, traditional crafts and essential services, worsening Japan’s demographic and economic challenges.