今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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VISAS

Kimi Onoda, the minister in charge of policies on foreign residents, in September in Tokyo
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2026
Japan unlikely to raise cap for foreign workers despite labor shortages
Kimi Onoda, minister in charge of policies related to foreign nationals, said demand for a special visa category is expected to eventually decline.
Police suspect one of two company executives arrested over a fraudulent visa application recently had also done so for 30 to 40 Chinese nationals beginning in 2020.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2026
Company executives and Chinese national held over visa fraud
One of the executives is believed to have submitted fraudulent applications for visas for between 30 and 40 Chinese nationals beginning in 2020.
The government plans to move meal services from the restaurant industry category to the food and beverage production category for Type 1 residency status for foreign workers with designated skills.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2026
Japan to restart accepting foreign workers for meal services at some facilities
The government aims to adopt the plan at a Cabinet meeting in December.
The Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa Ward. Under updated guidelines from the Immigration Services Agency that took effect on Oct. 1, officials are enforcing stricter household income benchmarks for those seeking to qualify for permanent residency, along with deeper audits of pension and social insurance history.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Oct 11, 2026
The do’s and don’ts when applying for permanent residency in Japan
What to know about income requirements, pension payments and the all-important statement of reasons.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (center), flanked by Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling (left) and Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito, speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday. The Trump administration said Thursday that it would suspend an immigration program for multiple tech firms, including Microsoft, alleging widespread abuse of a worker visa system.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2026
U.S. suspends Microsoft and other tech firms with India links from visa program
The move came hours before the U.S. president honored Microsoft’s CEO with a medal at a summit intended to spotlight U.S. scientific leadership.
A screenshot of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test website shows tests are held twice a year.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2026
Missed the JLPT? Here’s what you can do next
Even if you missed out on a spot for this year’s Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, you may have more options than you originally thought.
A training program for foreign workers under the Specified Skilled Worker program is held at East Japan Railway's training center in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2026
今日吃瓜 Specified Skilled Worker visa holders rise to record numbers
The number of foreign workers in the country on the visa reached a total 444,256 at the end of June, up 13.8% from six months earlier.
A poster about the increase in residence permit fees displayed at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau on Monday in the capital’s Minato Ward
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2026
Tokyo immigration bureau swamped ahead of residency fee hikes
Visa applicants faced waits of over seven hours at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, just days before permanent residency fees rise twentyfold.
A job placement company in Hanoi conducts a Japanese class in October 2022 for job seekers hoping to find employment in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 21, 2026
Japan raises the bar on residency. Cue the outrage.
Critics, and some residents, are up in arms at the suggested changes.
U.S. President Donald Trump making an announcement at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2026
Trump extends push for $100,000 H-1B visas by another year
Trump, who has pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown, has criticized the program and wants to permanently raise the fee.
Shikhambri Chhabra and her husband are raising their two sons — one born in India, one in Japan — in their Osaka home and say they have no plans to uproot the family.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 16, 2026
Amid 今日吃瓜 immigration squeeze, foreign residents ask: Should we stay?
Tighter visa rules and a weak yen have many foreign nationals pondering whether it’s time to leave their adopted country.
A Japanese police officer stands guard next to a plaque at the entrance of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, Japan November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 12, 2026
China to raise visa fees sevenfold for Japanese visitors
The decision came after Japan introduced higher visa fees for foreign nationals in July.
Japan's security sector is seeking permission to accept foreign workers due to serious labor shortages.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2026
Japan considers accepting foreign workers into security sector
An expert panel will discuss how many foreign workers the security sector will be allowed to accept and which security tasks can be assigned to them.
A meeting of an expert panel on the Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development at the Justice Ministry on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2026
Immigration agency considering aviation category for foreign worker programs
The government would shift 300 foreign workers from the Specified Skilled Worker program to the new system, rather than increase the overall intake.
A screenshot of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test website shows tests are held twice a year.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2026
Short JLPT application window leaves would-be test takers high and dry
Slots for the test in December were snapped up within three days after applications opened for most levels, and within a week for the remainder.
The number of foreign residents of Japan with business manager visas who have left the country has been steadily climbing since last October, when stricter visa rules were introduced.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2026
Nearly 1,000 business manager visa holders left Japan in first half of 2026
Under stricter requirements imposed since October, applicants must now have at least ?30 million in capital, up from ?5 million.
The suspect, who lives in the city of Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, appears to have been staying in Japan since 1993.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2026
72-year-old man arrested for overstaying 15-day tourist visa by 26 years
Police believe the South Korean national came to Japan using his brother’s passport in September 1993 in search of higher-paid work.
Employers last year registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas, down more than 25% from 2024 and fewer than half of the 759,000 visas sought in 2023, data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows.
WORLD / Society
Aug 26, 2026
What are H-1B visas for skilled workers and what changes are being made?
Business groups and companies say the visas help recruit highly skilled professionals and address a lack of qualified U.S. workers in some industries.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during an American mining industry roundtable at the State Department in Washington on Aug. 7.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 25, 2026
Trump administration plans to revoke visas of foreigners seeking asylum
If realized, the move could be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history.
Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau. The government adopted an ordinance Tuesday to raise fees for foreign nationals to renew or change their residency status to up to ?75,000 from a uniform ?6,000 at present, effective from October.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2026
Japan adopts ordinance to raise foreign nationals’ residency fees from October
The fee hikes were included in the revised immigration control and refugee recognition law enacted in May.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

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Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

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