Section 1 Japanese Society and People Deepening Their Ties with the World

1 Japan's Growth and Acceptance of Foreign Nationals

(1) Growth Strategy and Visa System

At the end of March 2016, the Government of Japan formulated the “Tourism Vision to Support the Future of Japan,” heading toward a new nation-building as an “advanced tourism nation.” It set new goals for the number of foreign visitors to 40 million in 2020 and 60 million in 2030. In the vision, it is stated that the Government will engage in strategic relaxation of visa requirements for the five countries whose nationals are currently required to obtain a visa to visit Japan (China, Russia, India, the Philippines and Viet Nam) out of 20 countries and regions that have big markets of potential tourists to Japan. Based on the above mentioned vision, MOFA had thus far been implementing a relaxation of visa requirements with these countries, including simplification of application forms and expansion of target persons for visa issuance from the perspective of promoting people-to-people exchanges, strengthening bilateral relations, etc. However, in 2020, the number of foreign nationals visiting Japan fell due to the impact of tighter border control measures mutually imposed by Japan and various foreign countries with the aim of halting the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which subdued the total number of foreign visitors to approximately 4.12 million. Relaxing visa requirements is effective to a certain extent for promoting people-to-people exchanges and Japan's economic growth. As such, the relaxation of visa requirements should be further promoted, while assessing the COVID-19 situation inside and outside Japan.

Meanwhile, intensifying visa control, as one part of border control measures designed to prevent the entry of criminals and foreign visitors planning to work illegally, as well as those who could become victims of human trafficking, is also an important challenge. MOFA will keep working on the relaxation of visa requirements in order to increase the number of foreign visitors to Japan while maintaining “Japan as the safest country in the world,” and to contribute to making Japan a tourism-oriented country both in quality and quantity through attracting the wealthy, repeating and younger visitors. MOFA intends to carry out this relaxation of visa requirements while taking into account bilateral relations, its diplomatic significance and other factors in a comprehensive manner, as well as considering their balance with border control measures.

(2) Hosting Foreign Human Resources and Their Social Integration

Since the financial crisis in 2008, the number of long-term foreign residents in Japan had kept decreasing until 2012 when the trend turned upward. While the aging of the population continues with a low birth rate resulting in the decrease of the population, it is important for Japan to secure capable human resources, in Japan or from abroad, in order to further vitalize Japan's economy and improve its competitiveness. In December 2018, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act was revised, and Japan started accepting foreign human resources by way of introducing the status of residence “Specified Skilled Worker” in April 2019. It is expected that the number of competent foreign nationals living in Japan will further increase in the future.

MOFA cooperates with the relevant ministries and agencies on the above-mentioned policies while also taking into account the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. As part of that exercise, it hosts the “International Forum on Acceptance of Foreign Nationals and Their Integration into Japan,” aiming to encourage debate among the people by providing opportunities to discuss concrete challenges and measures. At the forum that MOFA co-hosted with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in February 2021 under the theme of “Disseminating Information to Foreign Residents in Japan: The Current Situation and Issues seen in the COVID-19 Pandemic,” good practice and issues associated with the dissemination of information to foreign nationals in Japan during the pandemic of COVID-19 were introduced, and a rigorous discussion took place.