TOKYO — Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for a review of newly tightened Japanese business visa requirements, as a video of an emotional speech by an Indian restaurant owner spread online.
The rule was revised late last year, requiring applicants to have 30 million yen ($190,000) in capital, up from 5 million yen, due to concerns that the system was being abused.
But campaigners say the new rule could force out longtime residents, and the petition particularly highlighted the plight of foreign restaurant owners.
“My children only speak Japanese… and we’re told to go back to India,” Manish Kumar, who has lived in Japan for 30 years, told a gathering about the visa issue on Wednesday.
His business manager visa was not renewed last year, according to the Asahi Shimbun daily.
Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
“I’ve worked hard to get this far, thanks to the support” from fellow chefs and customers, Kumar said. “I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s cruel to tell people to return to their home country just because the rules have suddenly changed.”
It was unclear whether Kumar’s curry restaurant in Saitama, near the capital Tokyo, is still operating.
The clip showing his tearful speech was viewed millions of times.
The number of signatures on the Change.org petition calling for the government to scrap the 30-million-yen requirement had reached nearly 60,000 by Friday.
It was submitted to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan this week.
The number of applications for business manager visas has dropped 96 percent since the tightening of the rule, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported.
Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda welcomed the change, telling a news conference on Tuesday that “concerns that (the requirement) might be misused for the purpose of migration have been largely allayed.”
Concerns about the system had grown in recent years, with Chinese social media posts claiming it was easy to get a visa in Japan.
The number of business manager visa holders jumped to 45,000 by June last year, half of them Chinese and 2.7 times the number a decade ago, said the Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK.
Investigations by regional immigration services bureaus have also revealed numerous shell companies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has promised to tighten immigration rules, even though Asia’s No. 2 economy is struggling with labor shortages and a falling population.