Key facts
- Japan's Immigration Services Agency will hire over 200 new employees.
- The staffing increase is an emergency measure to enhance immigration enforcement.
- The agency aims to crack down on visa overstayers and unauthorized employment.
- The move comes amid a growing number of foreign residents in Japan.
- Japan had 68,488 unauthorized residents as of January.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency is set to significantly increase its workforce by over 200 employees in an emergency measure aimed at tightening immigration enforcement, particularly against visa overstayers and unauthorized employment. This midyear staffing expansion is highly unusual for the agency, which is grappling with a heavy workload due to the growing number of foreign residents in the country.
The government plans to approve revisions to the relevant ordinance for this personnel increase as early as the end of July. The agency had 6,499 employees in fiscal 2025, including 1,687 immigration control officers and 3,988 immigration inspectors. Despite a recent decrease, Japan had 68,488 unauthorized foreign residents as of January.
The initiative reflects Japan's effort to balance the need for foreign labor to address worker shortages with the necessity of strengthening enforcement against illegal residency and employment. The government also plans to enhance screening at airports and seaports to identify travelers at risk of overstaying their visas. South Korea is facing similar challenges with its increasing foreign population and the strain on its immigration agencies.