Manish Kumar, who runs an Indian restaurant in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, said the Immigration Services Agency denied his application under the country’s revised immigration rules, leaving him deeply worried about his family’s future.
“I’ve worked hard to get this far thanks to the support” from fellow chefs and customers, he said, adding, “I’ve done nothing wrong.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENT RAISED SIX-FOLDJapan revised its business manager visa rules late last year, raising the minimum capital requirement for applicants from 5 million to 30 million (around $190,000).
JAPAN SEES 96% DROP IN BUSINESS MANAGER VISAJapanese media reports also said applications for business manager visas have fallen sharply since the revised requirements came into effect.
A Change.org petition seeking a review of the revised visa rules has gathered nearly 60,000 signatures and was submitted to Japan’s Immigration Services Agency this week.
An Indian restaurateur, Manish Kumar, who has lived in Japan for nearly three decades, broke down during an event while recounting how stricter immigration rules led Japanese authorities to deny the renewal of his business visa, forcing him to shut down the restaurant he had operated for 18 years and prepare to return to India.
Manish Kumar, who runs an Indian restaurant in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, said the Immigration Services Agency denied his application under the country’s revised immigration rules, leaving him deeply worried about his family’s future.
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The restaurateur broke down while delivering an emotional speech at an event on May 13, saying, “My children only speak Japanese...and we’re told to go back to India.” A video of the gathering has since gone viral online.
Fighting back tears, Kumar, in a speech roughly translated from Japanese, said, “My children were born here and are now in high school; they can only speak Japanese and have only Japanese friends. I worked hard and even bought a house. To tell me unilaterally to go back to India - how is that humane?”
He also said that he had spent decades building a life in Japan with support from local authorities, customers and the community.
“I’ve worked hard to get this far thanks to the support” from fellow chefs and customers, he said, adding, “I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s cruel to tell people to return to their home country just because the rules have suddenly changed.”
Kumar, who continued renewing his visa instead of applying for permanent residency or Japanese citizenship, reportedly failed to meet the revised requirements.
It was unclear whether Kumar’s curry restaurant in Saitama, near Tokyo, is still operating.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENT RAISED SIX-FOLD
Japan revised its business manager visa rules late last year, raising the minimum capital requirement for applicants from 5 million to 30 million (around $190,000).
Authorities said the changes were introduced amid concerns that the visa system was being misused for migration purposes and following investigations that reportedly uncovered shell companies operating under the programme. According to a KPMG report, applicants or full-time employees are now required to demonstrate Japanese language proficiency, typically at around the JLPT N2 level.
JAPAN SEES 96% DROP IN BUSINESS MANAGER VISA
Japanese media reports also said applications for business manager visas have fallen sharply since the revised requirements came into effect.
A Change.org petition seeking a review of the revised visa rules has gathered nearly 60,000 signatures and was submitted to Japan’s Immigration Services Agency this week.
Kimi Onoda defended the stricter rules earlier this week, saying concerns that the visa programme “might be misused for the purpose of migration have been largely allayed.”
The case has triggered wider discussion online over Japan’s immigration policies and the uncertainty faced by long-term foreign residents whose legal status has become complicated despite deep social roots in the country.
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