Year 2025: Annual Column Retrospective: The Radical Revision of the Immigration Law and a Step Toward Becoming a "Country of Choice

 Voice Explanation

The year 2025 is just around the corner. Thank you for reading our columns this year.

Analyzing the access trends of the columns we have published on this website over the past year, it clearly emerges how the field of foreign employment has faced "drastic changes in the system. We look back on the progress made over the past year under three major themes.

1. stricter "Management and Administration Visa" and quality of business required

The article on the stricter requirements for the "Management and Administration Visa" that will take effect in October 2025 attracted extremely high attention immediately after its publication. The requirements include a significant increase in capital from "5 million yen" to "30 million yen or more," as well as the requirement to report on the actual status of the business. This is a strong message that Japan is looking for "quality investment and sustainable business" rather than "numbers. While many were perplexed by these revisions, it was impressive to hear from business owners with legitimate businesses that they welcomed the increased transparency.

2. countdown to the "training and employment system" and deepening compliance

Preparations for the transition from "technical training" to "training employment," and tougher penalties for unqualified agents due to the revision of the Administrative Scrivener Law. The fact that these topics were always at the top of the list is evidence of the unprecedented sincerity with which the recipient companies and registered support organizations are dealing with legal compliance. In an age when "I didn't know" is no longer an option. As professionals on the front lines of business, we have always focused on delivering "correct information" to our clients.

3. "Symbiosis of Culture and People" from Kyoto

Along with the practical columns, the article on the "Kyo-machiya International Co-creation Project" was read by many people. The article was about how to work together with foreigners as partners in passing on Kyoto's traditional skills, rather than simply viewing them as a labor force. The response to this column taught us that many people find hope in "exchanging hearts and minds" and "passing on culture" that transcends systems.

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Conclusion: 2026 and More Changes Ahead

In 2026, the digital transformation of residence cards to fully IC is coming. No matter how digitalized and rigid the immigration administration becomes, it will always be "people" who are at the center of it all. We would like to be a lighthouse that continues to support your challenges in Japan by drawing on our administrative experience as former Kyoto Prefecture officials to decipher the background "between the lines" of changing rules.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you who have walked with us through the turbulent year 2025.

Gyoseishoshi Lawyer Alex International Office
representative　Motoyasu Matsutani