Japan Immigration News

Foreigner fatigue and Japan’s new populism

Release Date: 2025-11-19
Media: Tokyo Review
Summary: Japan’s new government under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, in cooperation with the populist Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), is signaling a shift toward stricter control over immigrants and foreign residents. Despite Japan’s severe demographic decline and growing dependence on foreign labor, the governing coalition emphasizes national security, public order, and limits on foreign resident numbers rather than integration or inclusion.

Public frustration with overtourism and rising “foreigner fatigue” has contributed to a wave of restrictive measures, such as higher accommodation taxes for foreign tourists in Kyoto, the exclusion of international students from scholarship programs, and proposals to raise departure and visa fees. These developments illustrate increasing sensitivity and politicization around foreigner-related issues.

While foreign residents reached a record 3.95 million in 2025, Japan’s citizen population saw its largest-ever decline. Yet the political framing treats foreigners as a social problem, not as contributors needed to sustain the economy and welfare system. Ishin’s proposals—such as setting caps on foreign residents and tightening deportation rules—align with Takaichi’s nationalist stance on land ownership and immigration control.

The government’s rhetoric of “orderly and harmonious coexistence” places foreigners under majority norms, reinforcing their status as monitored guests rather than equal members of society. Stricter screening, visa enforcement, and fewer pathways to settlement could undermine security of status for immigrants and hinder long-term integration. Local governments, reacting to tourism pressure or complaints, may adopt exclusionary policies affecting even long-term foreign residents.

This approach risks creating a negative cycle: fewer foreign workers willing to settle, weaker integration infrastructure, and a growing narrative portraying foreigners as burdens. Despite demographic urgency, the coalition prioritizes national identity and short-term political gains over building an inclusive immigration system.

Unless Japan pairs border control with genuine integration policies—equal rights, institutional inclusion, language support, and local adaptation—it may deepen social divides and worsen its demographic challenges. The current direction suggests a difficult period ahead for immigrants, at a time when Japan needs partners, not temporary guests.
Tags: Coexistence

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