Politics
Japan's Residence-Fee Hike and the Foreign-Labor Debate
The government finalized a cabinet order sharply raising residence-status fees — status changes and renewals from ¥6,000 to ¥10,000–75,000, and permanent residence to ¥200,000 — effective October 1. Around the same time, a soba-chain president's push for more immigration drew backlash and a doctor's post about foreign workers arriving with severe injuries spread. Reactions favored the hike as user-pays while sharply criticizing businesses seen as leaning on cheap foreign labor.