Whether or not Japan should cap the number of foreign residents has become one of the talking points in Sunday\u2019s Lower House election, with the ruling Japan Innovation Party (JIP) and the opposition Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan (CPJ) taking a hard-line stance, while other parties focus on alternative regulations.<\/p>\n
The JIP\u2019s election manifesto pledges to formulate a population strategy in fiscal 2026 to regulate the number of foreign residents, including through numerical caps. The pledge is also included in the JIP\u2019s coalition agreement<\/a> with the Liberal Democratic Party.<\/p>\n The government is currently running simulations to determine an appropriate cap on the number of foreign residents, JIP co-leader Fumitake Fujita said in an interview with political data website Senkyo.com<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cLabor shortages must be taken into account, as well as the extent to which foreign residents can integrate into local communities and whether social infrastructure can support them,\u201d said Fujita. \u201cWe want to simulate (the cap) based on data, not emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n The LDP did not include a pledge to cap the number of foreign residents but promised tougher visa screenings for permanent residency and naturalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n The number of foreign residents hit a record 4 million \u2014 or 3.2% of Japan\u2019s population \u2014 as of the end of June. The number of foreign workers also reached a record 2.57 million<\/a> as of the end of October, up 11.7% from a year earlier.<\/p>\n Foreign residents are projected to account for more than 10% of Japan\u2019s population by 2040.<\/p>\n Sanseito\u2019s election manifesto pledges to establish a long-term demographic strategy to strictly regulate Japan\u2019s intake of foreign nationals. The party has proposed capping the number of foreign residents to 5% of the Japanese population in any given city, ward or village.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to stop accepting foreign nationals and fundamentally revise (Japan\u2019s immigration policy) to cap the number of residents. We can\u2019t let in more than we already have. We just need the bare minimum,\u201d said Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya during a campaign speech in Gunma Prefecture on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Sanseito opposes the long-term settlement of foreign nationals but supports the use of short-term foreign labor.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s have foreigners work in Japan for a limited period and send them home with a goodbye gift,\u201d said Kamiya at the Gunma rally.<\/p>\n