Thus, "as a measure to combat the growing number of foreigners illegally residing in the country," it is planned to stop the practice of issuing special certificates to arrivals from abroad at the regional level in city, district and rural administrative bodies, replacing them with a single "residence card" of the immigration bureau. At the same time, all foreigners will now be obliged to notify the bureau of any changes in their status, place of work and address of residence. Organizations that invite foreign trainee students, scientists and researchers to Japan will have to submit reports to the bureau on the state of affairs with their guests.
Ministry representatives emphasize that "it is about standardizing the system, not tightening it," noting that extending visa validity will be especially convenient for mixed families where the husband or wife is of Japanese origin.
Currently, more than 2 million foreign citizens live in Japan. New measures to control those arriving in Japan were introduced as early as last November, when, "in order to prevent illegal entry of terrorists into the country," all entrants were required to provide fingerprints.
RIA Novosti