Japan unveils new crackdown plan on illegal foreign residents
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi says Japan will target illegal work, forged residence cards and junkyard operators under a new immigration package.
- Japan has announced a new initiative, the "Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan," to increase enforcement against foreign nationals who stay or work in the country illegally.
- The plan will strengthen the use of social media analysis to uncover illegal employment and intensify crackdowns on employers who facilitate it.
- A new data-collection tool will be introduced to combat the trade of forged residence cards, which are reportedly being sold via social media.
- Authorities will specifically target metal and plastic junkyards to prevent them from becoming hubs for illegal employment.
Japan will step up action against foreign nationals who stay or work in the country illegally, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said on Friday (May 22), as he unveiled a new set of enforcement measures.
The package, named the Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan, sets out the Immigration Services Agency’s key priorities.
It follows a broader package of measures on foreign nationals released in January, a policy area Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has placed high on her agenda.
Under the plan, the agency will strengthen its system for gathering and analysing information on social media to uncover illegal employment.
It will also intensify crackdowns on employers who help facilitate such work.
The agency is also expected to introduce a dedicated data-collection tool after reports that forged residence cards are being traded through social media.
Another focus will be on operators of metal and plastic junkyards.
Their numbers have been rising as metal prices surge, and the agency plans to reinforce measures to prevent such sites from becoming hubs for illegal employment.
The number of foreign nationals staying in Japan illegally stood at 68,488 as of January, according to the agency.
Although the figure has declined for two straight years, it remains high.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
