Japan Tightens Foreign Entry and Investment Controls with Dual Bills

Japan on Friday enacted twin pieces of legislation that significantly tighten the terms on which foreign capital and people can enter the country. In a coordinated move, the Diet passed a bill establishing a new cross-ministerial body to screen foreign investments for national security risks, alongside a sharp increase in visa-related fees, by up to thirty times current levels. The dual actions, viewed from Washington and European capitals, signal that Tokyo is aligning more aggressively with the security posture of its Western allies while simultaneously seeking to manage the fiscal and social costs of a growing foreign population.

The investment screening law, modelled explicitly on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), creates a permanent committee empowered to review and potentially block or impose conditions on foreign acquisitions of Japanese companies. Officials have made clear that its primary purpose is to prevent the leakage of critical technologies and sensitive information. Though Japan has long had foreign exchange controls, the new body concentrates expertise and authority across ministries, mirroring a global trend. Analysts in London note that such mechanisms, once largely an American phenomenon, have proliferated across the European Union and now Asia, as great-power competition intensifies.

Simultaneously, the immigration law revision raises the statutory cap on application fees to 100,000 yen (US$630) for visa renewals and 300,000 yen for permanent residency – a steep rise from the previous ceiling of 10,000 yen. The government argues the additional revenue is needed to cover the mounting administrative burden of processing a record number of foreign residents, which has doubled over the past decade. The measure passed with majority support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and several opposition groups, though the largest opposition force, the Constitutional Democratic Party, voted against, warning that the hikes could unduly afflict asylum seekers and low-income migrants.

Taken together, the bills reflect a rebalancing act by Tokyo. The country desperately needs foreign workers to counter a shrinking workforce and foreign capital to revitalise stagnant sectors, yet polls show enduring public wariness over uncontrolled immigration and growing anxiety about technology theft, particularly from China. The new screening body brings Japan into tighter lockstep with the US at a time of mounting economic decoupling, but the visa fee increases – among the highest in the developed world – may cool the arrival of precisely the labour that demographic realities demand. Looking ahead, implementation rests on a cabinet order that will set the exact fees after a public comment period; the government has signalled it may introduce exemptions on humanitarian grounds, but the details remain vague.