Japan to Reinforce Immigration Services Agency

Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to reinforce the Immigration Services Agency to strengthen the oversight of foreign nationals in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Friday.

Japan needs to strengthen its crackdown on illegal overstayers and make screening procedures for foreign residents faster, Kihara said at a ministerial meeting on policies about foreigners.

The government plans to boost the number of immigration control officers and immigration inspectors by some 200 each.

The number of foreign nationals staying illegally in Japan stood at 68,488 as of January, the agency said.

Kihara said that the government will establish a working group of experts to work out a basic policy for accepting foreigners by the end of fiscal 2026.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]