Japan Tightens Foreign Resident Rules, Leaving Futures in Doubt

Japan's government is moving to tighten the rules for foreigners, raising the bar for permanent residency in a policy shift that has thrown the futures of many long-term foreign residents into doubt.

What is happening at a glance

• Japan's government is moving to tighten the rules that apply to foreigners.
• The bar for obtaining permanent residency is being raised.
• Public sentiment towards immigrants in Japan has been souring.
• The tightening comes amid a broader rightward shift in the country's politics.
• Long-term foreign residents are reconsidering their futures in Japan.

Raising the bar for permanent residency

According to a report by Genevieve Mansfield, published by Al Jazeera from Tokyo on 25 September 2026, Tokyo is raising the bar for permanent residency as part of its broader move to tighten the rules for foreigners.

The stakes are high for those affected. Permanent residency sits at the heart of long-term settlement plans for many foreign nationals who have built lives and careers in Japan, so any raising of the bar goes directly to what their futures in the country will look like.

Souring sentiment and a rightward shift

The tightening is unfolding as public sentiment towards immigrants in Japan sours, the report notes. It also comes amid a broader rightward shift in the politics of the East Asian nation, a combination that is reshaping the environment for the foreigners who call Japan home.

A more uncertain climate for migrants

Taken together, the harder line on permanent residency and the shift in public mood have created a climate of doubt, with foreign residents increasingly unsure whether they can still count on planning a permanent future in Japan.

Nearly eight years in Japan, and a future in question

The personal weight of the changes is captured in the case of Abdul, a Bangladeshi national who moved to Japan for work nearly eight years ago.

According to the report, Abdul now feels more accustomed to life in Japan than in his native Bangladesh. But as the government moves to tighten the rules for permanent residency and public sentiment towards immigrants sours, he is reconsidering his future.

His dilemma mirrors the one confronting other long-term foreign residents as Tokyo tightens its approach: whether to continue building a life in Japan or to reconsider their plans altogether.

An uncertain road ahead

For now, the government's move to tighten the rules has left Japan's long-term foreign residents facing an uncertain future, with their plans for permanent settlement in the country in doubt.