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July 24, 2026
 

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EXPATS

The Immigration Services Agency plans to increase the number of its employees to cope with the growing number of foreign residents in Japan.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Crime & Legal
Jul 23, 2026
Japan to add 200 workers to Immigration Services Agency
The personnel increase is aimed at strengthening enforcement against illegal residents and speeding up residency status screenings.
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 20, 2026
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Japan¡¯s small but growing ranks of digital nomads have embraced the opportunity to embed themselves in a Japanese life ¡ª and take advantage of a weak yen.
As of October, there were 2.57 million foreign workers in Japan, up 11.7% from the year before, according to the health ministry.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 14, 2026
Overseas remittances from Japan top ?1 trillion for the first time
The latest Finance Ministry data showed that remittances increased by 11.5% from the previous year to ?1.004 trillion, double the figure recorded in 2015.
A 48-year-old Turkish man was found unresponsive while lying face-up in a restroom at the detention facility of the Takao Police Station early on July 2, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Crime & Legal
Jul 14, 2026
Turkish man dies while in Tokyo police custody
The man said he began experiencing abdominal pain on June 29 while in police custody in Tokyo, and he was pronounced dead on July 2, with police not publicly stating the cause.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 6, 2026
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
From classrooms in India¡¯s northeast to nursing homes in Japan, an emerging labor corridor hopes to improve lives in both countries.
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jul 5, 2026
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara¡¯s latest work, ¡°Now and Then,¡± bridges a historical atrocity with the present-day treatment of asylum-seekers.
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 3, 2026
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Under the new structure, fees will vary depending on the length of the permit, with those in the top bracket required to pay at least ?65,000.
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 1, 2026
¡®My dream is broken¡¯: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
¡°I always wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Nepal ... but my dream is broken,¡± Budhathoki Samjhana said.
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2026
Inside Japan¡¯s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
Beyond the paperwork and the language barrier, James Benstead says the hardest part about adopting in Japan was the waiting.
American author Hannah Kirshner recently opened Mokkei as a hub for local knowledge-sharing and a retreat for tourists. Kirshner had spotted the century-old farmhouse years ago and dreamed of making it a ¡°lifelong art project.¡±
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 22, 2026
How a U.S. author found ¡ª and helped build ¡ª community in a Japanese hot spring town
With a new home base, Hannah Kirshner hopes to build even deeper community and cultural connections in rural Ishikawa Prefecture.
Tourists from abroad wearing kimonos pose for a souvenir photo with cherry blossoms in the city of Kyoto in March.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 20, 2026
Japan to raise visa fees for foreign nationals in first revision in 48 years
The fee will be increased from the current ?3,000 to ?15,000 for a single-entry visa and from ?6,000 to ?30,000 for a multiple-entry visa starting July 1.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya speaks to reporters in parliament on Wednesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Sanseito submits bill to create agency on policies related to foreign nationals
After submitting the bill, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya expressed his dissatisfaction with the government¡¯s policies on foreign nationals.
Tokyo Freedom Toastmasters Club, part of the Toastmasters International network, allows members to hone their public speaking skills in both Japanese and English.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 13, 2026
Bilingual speech club offers freedom to be yourself
No topic is off-limits at Tokyo Freedom Toastmasters Club, where participants open up about grief, trauma and other emotional experiences.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is calling for ¡°strong and effective¡± controls on land acquisition to prevent individuals or entities deemed security risks from acquiring sensitive properties, regardless of nationality.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics
Jun 12, 2026
LDP pushes tougher land and visa rules while avoiding nationality trap
Legal experts have argued that nationality-based restrictions could conflict with domestic law and international agreements.
Dipu Tamang from Nepal is among more than 400,000 international students in Japan.
COMMUNITY
Jun 11, 2026
In Japan, Nepalese students navigate a growing study-to-work pathway
A growing stream of young people see the country less as a traditional study destination and more as a structured route into work and long-term opportunity.
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 9, 2026
Japan to launch language support project for foreign children
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi (right) and Kazuki Yuda of Touch Immigration Law Firm during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Tighter immigration rules could tarnish Japan¡¯s image, opposition lawmaker says
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi cautions against a shift in Japan toward exclusionism and xenophobia.
Manish Kumar, who asked that his face not be shown, at his restaurant in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, on June 1.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 8, 2026
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
The life that restaurateur Manish Kumar built in Japan for he and his family has been upended after Japan enacted stricter rules for the business manager visa.
Shady business manager visa applications using shell companies can often be identified from the paperwork, with unusually small offices and addresses shared by multiple firms among the red flags.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2026
Dubious immigration brokers helped spark business manager visa crackdown
Shady immigration consulting firms, many in China, help people set up shell companies to apply for a business manager visa, or advertise the option of renting out properties.
Farooq Soban, a Pakistani resident of Ebetsu, Hokkaido, points to damage from a fire that destroyed a local mosque in the city, on April 29.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 1, 2026
Mosque fire shows need for better communication with foreign residents
The fire in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, exposed the need for deeper cooperation between Japanese and Pakistani residents on a broad range of issues.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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