TOKYO — The Japanese government increased fees for permanent residency by 2,000% on Thursday as part of a bid by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to make it harder for foreigners to stay in the country.

The authorities raised the application fee to $1,271 from $64, the largest increase in Japan’s history, and put in place stringent requirements regarding income, pensions and proficiency in the Japanese language.

Takaichi, a hard-line conservative, said the policies were necessary to quell rising concerns among Japanese citizens about a recent influx of foreigners; both immigration and tourism have risen since the pandemic thanks to a weak yen and companies bringing in staff from overseas to stem labor shortages.

“There are citizens who feel anxiety and a sense of unfairness,” Takaichi wrote on social platform X in announcing the measures.

She said the policies, which include a minimum income requirement of $36,428 per year, were meant to ensure that “both citizens and foreigners can live safely and securely.” Previously there were no detailed guidelines around income, pension levels or language for permanent residents.

Takaichi has rolled out several measures recently to more strictly regulate immigration and tourism. In July, the government raised the price of some tourist visas by more than 400%. Takaichi has also led a crackdown on business manager visas, requiring small businesses to have $188,000 in capital, up from $31,000 previously. That has led to an exodus of some longtime residents of Japan, including restaurant owners.

Critics say the measures risk stoking xenophobia and hurting Japan’s efforts to deal with severe labor shortages. Japan’s population is rapidly declining — it fell by more than 3 million people between 2020 and 2025 — and experts say that the country must recruit millions more foreign workers to offset demographic decline and galvanize the economy.

Taku Yamazoe, a Japanese lawmaker who represents the Communist Party, said Takaichi was exploiting fears in Japanese society. In a social media post, he said that the government was asserting “foreigners themselves threaten ‘safety and peace of mind,’” without providing evidence.

While the increases are most substantial for foreigners seeking permanent residency, the government is also raising fees for other types of visas. A five-year residence permit, for example, will now cost $475, up from $38, an increase of almost 1,300%.

Leny Tolentino, a coordinator at the Kalakasan Migrant Women Empowerment Center, which assists Filipino women living and working in Japan, wrote in an email that the increases would “add burdens for migrants, especially those with dependents.”

The number of foreign workers in Japan, while still relatively small, has reached record highs, while tourism has surged since the coronavirus pandemic. Foreigners now make up about 3.4% of Japan’s population of 119 million — the largest proportion ever. As of last year, there were 947,125 permanent residents, compared with 807,517 in 2020, an increase of about 17%.

Right-wing groups, pushing a “Japan First” mantra, have called for even tougher immigration policies, portraying foreigners as troublemakers who are diluting Japanese culture. They also say foreigners are exploiting Japan’s visa rules to stay in the country indefinitely.

Under the new rules, which are known as the “Comprehensive Measures for Acceptance and Coexistence of Foreign Nationals,” permanent residents will be required to have an income at or above the average for Japanese households, and projected pension benefits in line with what an employee might receive after 30 years of service.

The government will, for the first time, evaluate applicants for permanent residency based on Japanese language abilities and understanding of Japanese rules and customs. Under the rules, the government can revoke permanent residency if an immigrant fails to pay their pension contributions, health insurance and taxes or if they violate immigration law or the penal code.

The Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan’s major liberal newspapers, said in an editorial in September that the rules “disregard human rights and should be withdrawn.”

“Many foreign nationals who have chosen to live in Japan and want to spend the rest of their lives here will be robbed of that hope,” the newspaper wrote.

Foreigners said they were concerned about the tougher policies and the increasingly negative portrayal of immigrants in Japan.

Dennis McAdams, a teacher from the United States who has lived in Japan for 13 years and whose wife is from Japan, said his application for permanent residency was recently rejected; he said immigration officials told him he was one day late for a pension payment. He posted about his experience on X this week and received a flood of comments from people telling him to leave the country.

McAdams said in an interview that he worries he will not be able to qualify if he reapplies under the new rules.

“Even a model foreigner might not meet the requirements now,” he said. “The tide is shifting, and not in a productive way.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Javier C. Hernández and Hisako Ueno/Kentaro Takahashi
c. 2026 The New York Times Company