Your children go to school there. They speak the language. They make friends there. Maybe, to them, that country is the only home they really know.
Then one day, you're told you have to leave.
That is the fear sitting underneath Japan's latest immigration crackdown.
In 2025, Japan recorded its highest-ever number of government-funded deportations carried out with an immigration escort: 318 people.
The number itself is enough to make anyone considering Japan stop and ask a difficult question:
Is Japan becoming hostile to foreigners?
But there is an important detail hiding behind the headline.
Those 318 people were not the entire number of foreigners deported from Japan. In total, 7,563 people were sent back under deportation orders in 2025. The 318 figure refers specifically to people repatriated at government expense with an escort. Another 505 were repatriated at government expense without an escort, while 6,677 left at their own expense.
So what is actually happening?
And more importantly, should someone planning to move to Japan legally be worried?
The answer is more complicated than either "Japan is closing its doors" or "nothing has changed."
Let's look at what is actually happening.
The Story Behind the Numbers
Consider the human side of this before looking at another statistic.
In 2025, reports about Kurdish asylum seekers in Japan brought renewed attention to what happens when a family has spent years building a life in Japan but never manages to secure permanent legal status.
One case involved a Turkish Kurdish father who had been living in Japan for years with his family. His children had grown up in Japan, gone through the Japanese school system and built their everyday lives there.
When deportation becomes the final outcome, the immigration decision doesn't affect only the person whose application was rejected.
It can affect an entire family.
A child who has spent most of their life in Japan may suddenly be asked to leave the only country that feels like home.
That's the part of immigration statistics that a spreadsheet can't really show you.
And it is also why Japan's 2025 immigration crackdown has generated so much debate.
The government sees a system that needs to be enforced more strictly.
Human-rights groups and lawyers worry about what happens when strict enforcement catches people whose circumstances are more complicated than their immigration status suggests.
Both parts of that story matter.
What the Numbers Actually Say
The headline number needs some context.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency says that 18,442 foreigners were subject to deportation or departure-order procedures in 2025.
Of those, 7,563 were actually repatriated under deportation orders.
The number that reached a record high was the more specific category of people repatriated at government expense with an escort: 318.
That number was up from the previous year and reflects the government's decision to make escorted deportations a more prominent part of its enforcement strategy.
The government also recorded 9,789 people who left under departure orders.
Put all of those categories together and you get a much bigger picture of Japan's immigration enforcement than the 318 figure alone suggests.
And there is another number worth knowing.
As of July 2025, Japan had 71,229 people overstaying their permitted period of stay, although that figure had already fallen by 4.9% compared with January.
That is the population the government's crackdown is largely concerned with: people who are no longer legally entitled to remain, rather than foreigners simply being present in Japan.
This distinction is extremely important if you're considering moving there.
What Is the "Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan"?
In May 2025, Japan announced what it calls the "Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan."
The name sounds dramatic.
And it is supposed to.
The government's stated objective is to make it harder for people who do not have lawful status to enter, remain or work in Japan, while speeding up the removal of people who have already received deportation orders.
The Immigration Services Agency says the plan covers three broad stages: entry into Japan, residence and refugee screening, and departure/deportation.
The government specifically highlighted people who repeatedly misuse refugee applications and other people who do not follow Japan's immigration rules.
And this is where things become particularly important.
The plan isn't simply: "Foreigners are being deported."
It's closer to: "Japan is becoming more aggressive about removing people who no longer have a lawful basis to remain."
Those are two very different things.
Who Is Actually Being Caught Up in It?
This is the part that often disappears when the story is reduced to a headline.
Among the 318 people repatriated under escort in 2025, Turkish nationals were the largest group at 71, followed by Filipinos at 46 and Sri Lankans at 44.
And of those 318 people, 52 had applied for refugee recognition three or more times.
Another seven had received an indefinite or three-years-or-more prison sentence and fell under a separate exception to the suspension of deportation.
That matters because Japan's immigration law changed in 2024.
Previously, filing another refugee application could automatically suspend deportation while the application was being processed.
Under the amended system, that protection is no longer unlimited. In certain circumstances, people who have repeatedly applied for refugee recognition can be deported even while another application is pending.
That is one of the most controversial parts of the current system.
Supporters say it prevents people from repeatedly using asylum applications to delay removal.
Critics worry that a genuine refugee could be returned before their claim receives adequate protection.
That isn't an abstract argument.
For the person sitting in an immigration facility waiting to find out what happens next, the difference between those two interpretations can mean whether they stay with their family or are put on a plane.
So Is Japan Closing Its Doors?
Here's where the story gets interesting.
If Japan were genuinely trying to shut foreigners out, you would expect the numbers entering the country to be collapsing.
They're doing the opposite.
In 2025, Japan recorded approximately 42.43 million foreign entries, a record high. Foreign visitor arrivals were also at a record level, with around 42.68 million foreign visitors recorded during the year.
And Japan's foreign-resident population passed four million for the first time.
So at almost exactly the same time that Japan was intensifying deportation enforcement, more foreigners than ever were entering and living in Japan.
That sounds contradictory.
It isn't necessarily.
The picture looks more like this: Japan is becoming more open to foreigners who enter through recognised channels while becoming less tolerant of people who remain outside those rules.
That distinction is going to matter more and more.
But Something Has Changed
There is still a reason people are paying attention.
Japan isn't simply enforcing old rules more loudly. Some immigration and residency requirements have genuinely become stricter.
Take the Business Manager status.
From October 16, 2025, Japan changed the requirements for this visa status. Among the major changes, the required business capital or equivalent assets increased from ¥5 million to ¥30 million, and the requirements around staffing and management were also tightened.
That is a serious increase.
But there is an important detail here too.
Existing Business Manager residents were not simply told, "Find ¥30 million tomorrow or leave."
The government has provided a transition period through October 16, 2028, during which existing holders can still have renewal applications considered even if they do not yet meet every new criterion.
That's a good example of why immigration headlines need to be read carefully.
The rules are getting stricter.
But stricter does not automatically mean arbitrary.
And Then There Is the Political Climate
The immigration debate has also become much louder in Japan.
After the 2025 Upper House election, immigration became an increasingly visible political issue, with parties and politicians calling for tighter controls and greater enforcement.
That matters because immigration policy doesn't exist in a vacuum.
When public concern about foreigners rises, governments face pressure to demonstrate that immigration rules are being enforced.
Japan's Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan came directly out of that environment. The Immigration Services Agency itself said the plan was developed amid growing public concern over reports involving foreigners who were not following the rules.
But critics have pushed back strongly.
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations criticised the Zero Plan in 2025, warning that aggressive enforcement could lead to human-rights violations and contribute to prejudice against foreign nationals more generally. Other Japanese bar associations raised similar concerns.
That criticism is worth taking seriously.
Not because it proves the government's policy is wrong.
But because it reminds us that immigration enforcement has consequences beyond the person whose visa or asylum application is being reviewed.
Families can be affected. Children can be affected. Communities can be affected.
And once public discussion starts treating "foreigners" as one single category, people who are following every rule can end up feeling the consequences of problems they had nothing to do with.
It's the same undercurrent we cover in our piece on whether discrimination against foreign residents in Japan is real — this deportation policy doesn't exist in a vacuum from that broader climate.
So What Does This Actually Mean If You're Planning to Move?
Here's the part I would want someone to tell me before I packed a suitcase.
If you are entering Japan legally, maintaining valid status and following the conditions attached to your visa, the Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan is not designed to target you simply because you're foreign.
A sponsored worker, student, spouse or other legal resident is in a completely different position from someone who has overstayed, violated their status or received a final deportation order.
Nothing in the Zero Plan changes the basic importance of obtaining the right status in the first place.
That makes the preparation you do before leaving home even more important.
Your visa matters. Your employer matters. Your paperwork matters. Your renewal dates matter.
And once you arrive, things such as your address registration, tax obligations, health insurance, residence-card requirements and other official procedures should not be treated casually.
The government is explicitly strengthening enforcement against irregular residence, and in January 2026 it announced an even stronger implementation package aimed at reducing the number of overstayers.
In other words, "I'll sort it out later" is becoming a more expensive strategy.
If your pathway into Japan is a legitimate one — sponsored employment, a Certificate of Eligibility, a student visa, a spousal visa — the Zero Plan is not designed to target you. Nothing in the policy changes the process laid out in how the Certificate of Eligibility works, and it doesn't retroactively affect people already holding valid status.
What has genuinely tightened is the margin for error.
And that distinction is worth remembering.
Japan isn't saying: "Foreigners aren't welcome."
It's increasingly saying: "If you're going to stay, we expect you to follow the rules."
Whether Japan's enforcement is always fair is a separate question — and one that deserves scrutiny.
But if you're planning to move there legally, your best response isn't panic.
It's preparation.
Practically, that means: if you're serious about a legal pathway, going in through a route with proper sponsorship — like the kind of employers we've profiled in our list of visa-sponsoring companies — and staying current on every renewal and filing deadline, matters more now than it did two years ago.
Should This Change Your Plans?
For most people planning a legitimate move to Japan?
No.
But it should change how seriously you take the process.
The biggest mistake would be looking at the deportation headlines and thinking, "Japan is deporting foreigners, so maybe I shouldn't go."
The second biggest mistake would be the opposite: "I'll get there somehow and figure out the paperwork later."
Neither is a good strategy.
Japan is still admitting record numbers of foreigners. Its foreign-resident population is still growing. Companies still recruit foreign workers. Universities still accept international students. People still move there every year and build ordinary, successful lives.
But the system is becoming more deliberate about who gets to stay and under what conditions.
That means your pathway matters. Your documentation matters. And your willingness to follow the rules matters.
If you're still deciding which route makes sense for you, our breakdown of the four pathways people actually use to move from Nigeria to Japan is the place to start, because the pathway you choose determines how much of this even applies to you.
If you want to make sure your paperwork, timelines, and pathway decisions are handled correctly from day one — especially in an environment where compliance matters more than ever — the Japan Relocation Starter Kit walks through exactly what to get right before you leave and what can wait until you land.
Did the 318 number surprise you more before or after you found out the real total was 7,563?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Japan's Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan affect people with valid visas?
Not simply because they are foreign. The plan is focused on people who are in Japan without lawful status or who fall into specific enforcement categories, including certain repeat refugee applicants and people already subject to deportation procedures. Someone with valid residence status who follows the conditions of that status is in a fundamentally different position.
Is Japan becoming harder to move to overall?
In some ways, yes. In others, no. Japan is tightening enforcement and has raised requirements in certain areas, such as the Business Manager status. At the same time, the country continues to admit record numbers of foreign visitors and has passed four million foreign residents. So the better description isn't "Japan is closing its doors." It's that Japan is becoming more selective and more demanding about the conditions under which foreigners enter and remain.
Should someone with a work or student visa be worried about deportation?
Not simply because of the current Zero Plan. The important thing is maintaining lawful status and complying with the conditions attached to your residence status. That means renewing documents on time, following employment or study conditions, keeping required registrations up to date and dealing with immigration or government procedures properly. The safest approach isn't to fear the system. It's to understand it.
What is the biggest lesson for someone planning to move to Japan?
Don't treat your visa as the finish line. Treat it as the beginning of your responsibility to stay compliant. Getting into Japan legally is one part of the journey. Staying legally is the part that continues every day you live there.
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