Refugee application center located on the third floor of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo. (© Kyodo)
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A total of 1,446 foreign nationals had their residency status revoked in 2025, up 262 cases from the previous year, or roughly 20%, according to data compiled by the Immigration Services Agency. Most were technical intern trainees or international students, though seven permanent residents also lost their status. The issue is drawing added attention as the government moves ahead in earnest with preparations to tighten the rules on permanent residency when the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act takes effect in April 2027.
By nationality, Vietnamese accounted for the largest share, with 947 cases, roughly one-third of the total. Indonesians and Sri Lankans followed. By visa category, the highest number of revocations involved the Technical Intern Training status, at 973, up 263 from a year earlier. That was followed by Student at 343 and Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services at 63.
Many of the cases involved technical intern trainees who absconded from their workplaces or international students who were expelled from school and then remained in Japan for more than three months.
Of the seven permanent residents whose status was revoked, two were Sri Lankan nationals, two were Chinese nationals, and one was an Indonesian national.
In each case, the revocation came after authorities discovered that the individual had obtained permission to enter Japan through false statements or other fraudulent means
Essentially 'Japanese'
Permanent resident status is often described as differing from naturalization into Japanese citizenship in only two major respects: permanent residents do not have the right to vote, and they can still be deported.
In most practical terms, they are otherwise little different from Japanese nationals. For that reason, how permanent residents are handled in residence-status revocation cases is becoming the next major point of focus.
As of the end of 2025, the number of permanent residents stood at about 947,000, an increase of roughly 29,000 over the previous year. They are the largest group among foreign residents in Japan, accounting for more than 20% of the total.
To obtain permanent residency, applicants must meet requirements such as having lived in Japan for at least 10 years and possessing sufficient assets or skills to support themselves independently.
Public Obligations
At the same time, some permanent residents who can afford to pay taxes and social insurance premiums have deliberately failed to do so, an issue that has drawn growing attention in recent years. In response, the Immigration Control Act was revised in June 2024 to allow permanent resident status to be revoked when public obligations, including tax payments, are intentionally neglected.
The revised law is scheduled to take effect in April 2027, and the Immigration Services Agency says it will set out the details of the new criteria before enforcement begins. Work on the new framework is now moving into full swing.
On April 2, the National Police Agency also announced that permanent residents accounted for the highest number of criminal cases involving foreign nationals in 2025, with 3,175 cases, the largest figure among all residency categories.
'National Interest' Requirement Also Set for Review
Under the government's new basic foreign policy framework, the Comprehensive Measures adopted in January 2026, officials noted that the requirements for permanent resident status have been criticized as too lenient.
The policy also pointed out that because permanent residents are not required to renew their period of stay after approval, some may later fall short of the conditions originally required to obtain that status.
It raised the concern that continuing to tolerate a small number of problematic permanent residents with poor compliance records could foster unfair prejudice against the vast majority who live in Japan properly and follow the rules. For that reason, it said, the question of how permanent residency should be granted and managed has become an important policy issue.
The government, therefore, called for stricter screening of permanent resident applications and a review of the approval standards themselves. Specifically, it said it would reconsider the requirements for financial self-sufficiency and "national interest" in light of the original purpose of granting permanent residency.
It also said it would study whether applicants should be required to complete programs in Japanese and Japan's laws, institutions, and social rules. Based on how the revised system operates in practice, the government added, it will continue examining further steps, including the possibility of expanding the grounds for revocation.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: The Sankei Shimbun
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