A Residency-Fee Hike and a Coexistence Ordinance Reignite Japan's Immigration Debate

Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Three separate flashpoints over immigration drew attention around the same time. The Immigration Services Agency plans to raise the fee for permanent-residency applications from under 10,000 yen to around 200,000 yen, and the National Christian Council in Japan protested that the change "strengthens the control and exclusion of foreign residents." Separately, Toyama Prefecture's draft "multicultural coexistence" ordinance drew resident pushback, and the governor dismissed critics by saying his explanations "still hadn't sunk in," with the public-comment window closing that day. A third thread claimed that foreigners entering Japan to commit theft are increasing. The three are distinct matters rather than one causal story, and the claim of rising "foreign crime" comes with no comparison, statistics, or timeframe behind it. Against a backdrop of rising prices and heavy reliance on foreign labor, the common thread — who gets admitted, how coexistence is pursued, and public safety — set off a split debate.

Key Reaction Themes

• Support for the fee hike (most common) — Most argued that 200,000 yen is reasonable or even cheap next to permanent-residency costs abroad, that the original ~10,000 yen was simply too low, and pushed back on the protesting group.
• Distrust of how coexistence policy is being pushed — Wariness toward local governments advancing ordinances without building resident consensus, and toward a governor who brushed off opposition as not having "sunk in."
• Concern about lax enforcement, met with skepticism — Complaints about easy non-prosecution and loose entry checks, countered by voices noting the per-visitor crime rate hasn't actually changed and that the "rising foreign crime" premise is unproven.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

The Permanent-Residency Fee Raised Twentyfold and the Council's Protest

The Immigration Services Agency plans to raise the permanent-residency fee from under 10,000 yen to around 200,000 yen, and the National Christian Council in Japan protests.

Sources: 2ch

Comments:

• "Huh? Two zeros isn't even enough."
• "There's inflation, so of course they'd raise it."
• "If anything, it's more like, 'it was only 10,000 yen?'"
• "It still looks incredibly cheap — I wonder how it works abroad, permanent residency."
• "Tightening the controls is a good thing, and isn't excluding people who can't pay also a good thing?"
• "Don't sell Japan cheap."
• "Taking money where you can is standard practice. If you've got complaints, then don't get permanent residency."
• "Come complain after you've become someone's guarantor."
• "A mere religious body has no business meddling in a nation's politics."
• "Abroad you can't get permanent residency for 200,000 yen, can you?"
• "The original was just too cheap."
• "Getting a driver's license costs 300,000 yen, so this is cheap."
• "They kept saying 'but abroad...,' so we matched the level for them."
• "Why is the Japan Christian Council butting in?"

Toyama's Multicultural Coexistence Ordinance and the Governor's Response

Residents push back on Toyama's draft multicultural coexistence ordinance, and the governor responds that his explanations "still hadn't sunk in."

Comments:

• "Maybe it's your explanation that doesn't make sense?"
• "Put it to the public will — specifically, resign and run again, yes? You can surely get re-elected and carry on, right?"
• "No matter how many people say they're opposed in the public comments, he'll just wave it away with 'it still hadn't sunk in' and push it through."
• "Immigrants, everyone — apparently you're welcome to live at this governor's house with a free pass."
• "The very people who preach multiculturalism and diversity are the ones who can't hold a dialogue and shut down opposing views."
• "Expert panels are mostly garbage, aren't they — my impression is they're all ideologically biased self-proclaimed experts and activists dressed up as ordinary citizens. I won't say public comments are always right, but they seem more sensible than any expert panel this governor would assemble."
• "People with no future left ahead of them have it easy, don't they — they'll just slurp up the money and leave before ever having to face a coexistence society head-on."

A Claim That Foreigners Are Entering Japan to Commit Theft

A message-board thread claims that foreigners entering Japan to steal are increasing, prompting pushback on both the claim's basis and on lenient enforcement.

Sources: 2ch

Comments:

• "Well, they don't understand the language, so — no prosecution."
• "The number of cases per foreign visitor hasn't actually changed, has it?"
• "Even if a theft happens, unless someone's caught you can't know whether it was a foreign offender, so you couldn't produce data on this even if you wanted to. All that's actually true is that the small number caught in Japan were on cross-border theft trips."
• "Under the Takaichi government things have gotten quite a bit stricter on illegal foreigners."
• "I know of a guy who stole a car, got caught, was released in about a month, did it again, and was telling people 'come to Japan.'"
• "Japan's own underclass and organized-crime types are way more dangerous than any foreigners."
• "All sorts of security are lax, and as things stand there's a decent chance of getting off without prosecution."
• "Everything short of arson really is minor, true. Nobody suddenly opens fire on you, either."
• "Of course — if it ends in no prosecution, they'll keep coming."
• "As long as you're not caught on the spot you're fine — even if it comes out later you won't be arrested, so it's a free-for-all; and even if you do get caught on the spot, there's a high chance it ends in no prosecution."
• "It's what you'd call a crime tour into Japan from abroad — you can do whatever you want, and even if you're caught there's no prosecution, so it's gaining a reputation over there; it'll only grow from here."