The government is set to grant “long-term resident” status to fourth-generation Japanese immigrants who meet Japanese language proficiency and other requirements, hoping to tap into a lucrative potential labour resource centred in Latin America, sources said.
The visa status would allow applicants to work in Japan for an extended period while living with their family members.
According to the sources, the government will seek public input on the issue as early as autumn, with the aim of implementing the change by the end of the year.
The government created a system in 2018 that allows fourth-generation Japanese immigrants to study Japanese language and culture while working in Japan on a “designated activity” visa.
However, they are required to return to their home countries after a maximum of five years in Japan and are not allowed to bring their family members with them.
While the government expected 4,000 people to be admitted annually, only 128 were in Japan under this scheme at the end of 2022, according to the Immigration Services Agency. Eighty-four were from Brazil.
Five groups of Brazilians of Japanese descent asked the Japanese government to review the system in a written request submitted in September.
They said that forcing fourth-generation Japanese immigrants to remain effectively separated from their families for five years was a human rights issue.
The groups called for them to be allowed to switch to long-term resident status within two to three years of arriving in Japan.
The government revised the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law in 1990 to grant long-term resident visas to second and third generation Japanese immigrants and their family members in order to cope with a labour shortage caused by the booming economy.
Under the government’s plan, fourth-generation Japanese immigrants would be allowed to upgrade to long-term resident status after five years if they meet conditions such as passing the N2 level of the five-tier Japanese language proficiency test, the sources said.
The second-highest level requires test-takers to understand “Japanese used in everyday situations”, such as newspaper articles and daily conversation.
The government is also considering raising the age limit for fourth-generation Japanese immigrants to around 35, the sources said.
Currently, applicants must be between 18 and 30 when they come to Japan.
The five groups of Brazilians of Japanese descent had called for the age limit to be abolished or at least raised significantly.
Angelo Ishi, a professor of sociology at Tokyo’s Musashi University, said fourth-generation Japanese immigrants were discouraged by the prospect of working in Japan without being accompanied by their family members.
“A drastic review of this restriction is needed if the government is serious about opening the door wider,” said Ishi, a third-generation Japanese-Brazilian who researches immigration issues.
