Japan Creates Foreign Nationals Task Force as Election Pressure Meets a Shrinking Workforce

A new government office at the center of an election debate

Japan has created the Office for the Promotion of a Society of Harmonious Coexistence with Foreign Nationals as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces an election shaped by anxiety about immigration, tourism and national identity. The office is intended to coordinate policy on matters ranging from visas and foreign purchases of land to unpaid medical bills and public order.

As of July 18, 2025, the decision brings together two pressures that are pulling Japanese politics in different directions. Employers need workers as the population ages and shrinks. Voters are increasingly hearing claims that foreigners are responsible for problems involving jobs, prices, public services and safety.

The numbers explain why the debate matters. Japan had a record 2.3 million foreign employees in October 2024. Its foreign resident population has risen from 2.23 million to 3.8 million over the past decade, yet foreigners still account for only about 3% of the population. Meanwhile, the country received a record 21.5 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2025.

Ishiba's government is trying to respond to complaints without weakening the international connections that support businesses and local economies. Its new office is also a political signal ahead of the upper house election, where the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, and its coalition partner Komeito face the possibility of losing their majority.

Sanseito, a party campaigning on a "Japanese First" message, has helped move immigration from the political fringe into the center of the contest. Its rise is putting pressure on the government to show that it can enforce rules while continuing to accept foreign workers and visitors.

Why the election has raised the stakes

The LDP and Komeito enter the election after losing their lower house majority last year, the first such loss in 15 years. Polls suggest that their upper house majority is also at risk. Sanseito is projected to win 10 to 15 seats, potentially weakening the government's already uncertain hold on power.

Japan's parliament has two houses. The government's loss of its lower house majority has already reduced its political strength; losing its upper house majority would add to the difficulty of securing support for its agenda. Immigration policy is therefore being debated alongside a broader struggle over who can govern effectively.

Sanseito's appeal draws on frustration with economic stagnation, a weak yen and the increasingly visible presence of tourists and foreign workers. Its nationalist campaign has been inspired in part by the nativist politics associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump. Nativist politics gives priority to people regarded as belonging to the nation over people arriving from elsewhere.

Party leader Sohei Kamiya has promised to clamp down on illegal immigration and give Japanese citizens priority in welfare and employment. Sanseito has more YouTube followers than any other Japanese political party, giving it a substantial channel for reaching voters directly.

The party's support is particularly strong among younger men. It is also trying to broaden its audience by putting forward female candidates and softening some of its more controversial positions. Those efforts accompany a message that links household insecurity with questions about who should receive jobs, benefits and protection from the state.

A shrinking population creates a need for workers

Japan's birth rate fell to a record low of 1.15 in 2024, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. That measure describes the average number of children a woman would have under prevailing birth patterns. A sustained rate below the replacement level means fewer people entering younger generations.

The working age population is declining as the country grows older. Fewer workers place pressure on businesses and on the social welfare systems that support older people. Employers in elder care, agriculture and hospitality already depend on foreign workers to fill gaps.

Japan has gradually relaxed immigration rules despite its longstanding strict approach to entry and its strong sense of cultural homogeneity. Routes for "specific skilled workers" have opened opportunities in fields including nursing, hospitality, construction and aviation. These changes form part of the country's response to labor shortages.

The increase in foreign residents from 2.23 million to 3.8 million amounts to about 1.57 million people, or roughly 70%, over a decade. That growth helps explain why foreign residents have become more visible, even though their share of Japan's population remains much lower than in most Western countries.

The main developments leading into the current debate are:

• Over the past decade, Japan's foreign resident population rose from 2.23 million to 3.8 million.
• In October 2024, foreign employment reached a record 2.3 million.
• In 2024, the birth rate fell to 1.15, while the ruling coalition lost its lower house majority.
• In the first half of 2025, foreign visitor arrivals reached a record 21.5 million.
• By July 18, 2025, the government had created its new office as immigration became a major upper house election issue.

Tourism brings income and pressure on daily life

Japan's tourism boom has brought an economic boost alongside complaints about overcrowding, rising prices and disruption to everyday routines. With 21.5 million foreign visitors in the first half of the year, Japan has become Asia's most visited country and the eighth most visited globally.

Tourism and foreign employment affect communities in different ways. Visitors bring spending to destinations and businesses. Foreign residents may work, use local services and build their lives in Japan. Both groups have become part of a political debate that often places different concerns under the single heading of foreigners.

Some residents blame tourists for inflation and shortages of staples such as rice. Others accuse foreign workers of taking jobs from Japanese citizens or abusing welfare systems. Foreign purchases of real estate have also prompted concerns about property prices.

Those complaints put practical issues on the government's agenda: how crowded places are managed, how services are paid for and how rules are enforced. They also create an opening for parties that connect everyday frustration with broader warnings about national identity and cultural change.

Japan's dependence on tourism makes its response economically sensitive. Businesses and local economies benefit from visitors, while residents want manageable streets, services and prices. Policies that discourage visitors could reduce tourism income at the same time that officials are trying to address the pressures associated with their arrival.

What the crime debate reveals about public fears

Shunsuke Tanabe, a sociology professor at Waseda University, points to a gap between growing anxiety about foreigners and Japan's longer trend in crime. Crime rates have declined over the past 20 years even as the foreign population has increased.

Foreigners accounted for 5.3% of arrests in 2023. Tanabe described the crime rates of Japanese and foreign nationals as virtually the same, challenging the idea that a more visible foreign population necessarily means deteriorating safety.

Tanabe's assessment of the comparison was direct:

There is virtually no difference between Japanese nationals and foreign nationals in terms of crime rates.

The Waseda sociologist also explained how impressions of change can feed political support for parties promising protection:

There are visibly more foreigners around; they start to assume that public safety must be getting worse, too. As a result, negative campaigns spread on social media resonate with many, leading them to think that parties promising to 'protect' society from these imagined threats are the better choice.

Political analysts argue that Sanseito is using such misconceptions to win votes, spreading warnings through social media and presenting itself as a defender of Japanese culture and security. The public debate therefore involves both concrete complaints about services and conduct, and broader fears that researchers describe as exaggerated or unfounded.

What the new office is meant to do

The Office for the Promotion of a Society of Harmonious Coexistence with Foreign Nationals is intended to operate as a "command center" for policies affecting Japanese citizens and foreigners. Its coordinating role covers issues that otherwise fall across several areas of government.

The office's mandate includes:

• Immigration policy and visa regulations.
• Land acquisitions by foreigners.
• Unpaid social insurance contributions and medical bills.
• Public order and crime prevention.

Ishiba has paired the language of coexistence with a promise of enforcement. The prime minister has pledged to "take strict action against those who do not follow the rules," reflecting the government's effort to reassure voters who believe existing controls are insufficient.

Measures under consideration include preventing tourists and foreign residents with unpaid medical bills from obtaining or renewing visas. Other proposals would tighten requirements for foreigners converting to Japanese driver's licenses and purchasing real estate. These are proposals being considered, and no implementation dates have been given.

For a foreign resident, visa renewal determines whether they can continue living in Japan under their existing permission. Connecting renewal to unpaid bills would therefore bring payment issues directly into decisions about continued residence. For visitors, a restriction on obtaining a visa would affect their ability to enter the country.

Supporters say stronger enforcement would address legitimate concerns and help maintain social harmony. The government's challenge is to make rules effective while preserving the acceptance of foreign workers and tourists that businesses need.

Why employers worry about an unwelcoming message

Jeffrey Hall, a Japanese studies lecturer at Kanda University, warns that closer scrutiny of foreigners could carry a cost for employers. Businesses facing labor shortages need people who are willing to come to Japan and remain there.

Hall described the risk in terms of how foreign workers experience daily life:

if Japan becomes a society that strictly monitors foreigners to the point where they feel unwelcome, it could have a damaging effect on the ability of businesses to get the foreign workers they need.

Elder care, agriculture and hospitality are among the industries exposed to that problem. A shrinking workforce already limits their supply of employees. Measures that make Japan less attractive to foreign workers could make recruitment harder, even if the government continues to permit entry through existing work routes.

Tourism faces a related concern. The same visitors associated with crowding and complaints also provide revenue. An approach that alienates them could affect local businesses whose income depends on international travel.

Critics of the government's direction therefore focus on more than the wording of individual regulations. They worry about the wider message foreigners receive from political campaigns, official monitoring and public discussion. Japan needs workers and visitors to feel able to participate in the economy while addressing complaints about conduct and payment.

Sanseito combines immigration controls with a wider nationalist program

Sanseito's campaign extends beyond immigration. Its platform connects stricter controls with preserving traditional culture, increasing agricultural self sufficiency and resisting globalization. It has also opposed vaccines, LGBT rights and nuclear power, presenting itself as a defender of the "true Japanese spirit."

Kamiya has framed the party's position as national protection rather than exclusion. At a recent press conference, the Sanseito leader called for tougher policing and regulation of foreigners, citing crime and legal loopholes. He also said that legal foreign workers who contribute to society are welcome.

Kamiya stated his position on those workers as follows:

We are not in any way intending to exclude foreign workers who are here legally, who are working legally side by side with the Japanese, with jobs.

Sanseito also promises tax cuts and increased child benefits. Those economic policies give voters reasons to support the party beyond immigration, while its emphasis on national priority connects household finances with a wider argument about government responsibility to Japanese citizens.

Rice sits at the meeting point of its economic and cultural messages. The party promotes greater agricultural self sufficiency, particularly in rice production, tapping into anxiety about food security and national identity. Kamiya has warned against imports of American rice, arguing that they would devastate Japanese farmers and undermine national sovereignty.

The party's rise shows how concerns that were once associated with the political fringe have become part of mainstream election competition. The governing coalition must now respond to a challenger that combines online reach, economic promises and demands for stronger controls on foreigners.

Similar politics abroad, a different demographic setting

Japan's debate echoes developments in the United States and Europe, where parties on the far right have gained support by promising to put citizens first and warning about foreigners. Sanseito's use of social media, appeals to economic insecurity and warnings about cultural erosion resemble tactics associated with Germany's Alternative for Germany, or AfD, and Britain's Reform party.

Japan nevertheless faces a particular combination of circumstances. Foreigners account for a relatively small share of its population, while its demographic crisis is more acute than in most Western nations. Its need for additional workers is growing even as immigration becomes a more contested political issue.

The United States and Europe have long histories of immigration and multiculturalism. Japan's self image as a culturally homogeneous society makes the integration of foreigners especially sensitive, despite the gradual opening to workers and tourists in recent years.

Japan's history has included periods of openness and isolation. During World War II, Japanese immigrants in the United States faced internment and discrimination under laws including the Alien Enemies Act. The present debate concerns how Japan itself will accommodate people from abroad while addressing concerns about social cohesion and national identity.

The practical task is adaptation: keeping international labor and tourism connections while making daily coexistence work for residents, newcomers and visitors. Japan's low birth rate and declining workforce give that task an economic urgency alongside its political sensitivity.

The election tests two competing priorities

Ishiba has acknowledged that Japan needs international participation to support economic growth. His position combines continued acceptance of foreign workers and visitors with a stronger focus on compliance and coordination through the new office.

The prime minister described the economic case for openness in these terms:

it is essential for us to incorporate the vitality of the international community, through the acceptance of a certain number of foreign workers and the expansion of inbound tourism, to ensure a smooth transition to a growth-oriented economy.

The upper house election will shape the pressure on that approach. Further gains by Sanseito and other parties campaigning against immigration could push the government toward tougher measures. A backlash against nativist rhetoric could instead encourage a reassessment of how Japan manages demographic change and economic needs.

For employers, the immediate concern is access to workers. For foreign residents, it is the conditions under which they can live and work in Japan. For communities receiving large numbers of visitors, it is how to retain tourism income while reducing disruption.

The new office places those issues within one coordinating structure. Its central test will be whether stronger enforcement can coexist with the openness that Ishiba says Japan needs, at a time when election campaigning is making the presence of foreigners more politically contentious.

Key Points

• Japan has created an office to coordinate policy on foreign nationals ahead of an upper house election.
• The LDP and Komeito risk losing their upper house majority after losing their lower house majority in 2024.
• Sanseito is projected to win 10 to 15 seats while campaigning on a "Japanese First" platform.
• Foreign employment reached 2.3 million in October 2024, and foreign residents number 3.8 million, about 3% of the population.
• Japan's birth rate fell to 1.15 in 2024, while foreign visitor arrivals reached 21.5 million in the first half of 2025.
• Proposals cover unpaid medical bills, visas, driver's licenses and real estate purchases.
• Researchers challenge claims linking greater foreign visibility with worsening safety, while employers face continuing labor shortages.