TOKYO: The case of Manish Kumar, an Indian national who spent nearly three decades building his life in Japan, has ignited widespread debate over the country’s increasingly strict immigration policies and the uncertain future faced by long-term foreign residents.
Kumar, who operated an Indian curry restaurant in Saitama Prefecture for 18 years, recently revealed during a protest gathering in Tokyo that Japan’s Immigration Services Agency had denied the renewal of his Business Manager Visa and instructed him to return to India.
The decision has effectively dismantled the life Kumar built over 30 years in Japan. Following the visa rejection, he was forced to shut down his restaurant, despite having spent nearly two decades running the business and establishing roots in the community, including purchasing a home in Japan.
The situation has become particularly painful for his family. Kumar’s children were born and raised entirely in Japan, attend Japanese schools, speak only Japanese and have built their entire social lives there.
At the centre of the controversy is Japan’s recent overhaul of its Business Manager Visa framework. Authorities introduced stricter eligibility criteria aimed at preventing misuse of the visa system by individuals allegedly creating shell companies solely to obtain long-term residency status.
However, critics argue the revised rules are also hurting legitimate small business owners who have contributed to local economies and communities for years.
Among the biggest changes is a steep increase in the minimum capital requirement, which reportedly rose from 5 million yen to 30 million yen, effectively multiplying the threshold six-fold.
Business owners are also now expected to employ at least one full-time Japanese citizen or permanent resident, maintain stricter office infrastructure standards and demonstrate advanced Japanese language proficiency, often around the JLPT N2 level.
For many small family-run businesses, especially restaurants and local retail operations, meeting those benchmarks has become financially unviable.
The impact has reportedly been dramatic. According to immigration data cited by activists, monthly Business Manager Visa applications have plunged sharply since the revised rules came into effect, falling from roughly 1,700 applications to about 70.
Kumar’s emotional appeal has since gone viral online, turning him into a symbol of the anxieties felt by many long-term foreign residents living in Japan.
Immigration advocates argue that the system places disproportionate emphasis on financial capital while overlooking years of tax contributions, community integration and legal compliance by foreign entrepreneurs who have already established stable lives in the country.
An online petition demanding a review of the revised visa rules and greater flexibility for long-term residents has reportedly gathered nearly 60,000 signatures and has been submitted to the Immigration Services Agency.
The controversy has also reignited a larger conversation around Japan’s immigration paradox. While the country faces an ageing population, shrinking workforce and labour shortages across multiple sectors, critics say its immigration system still remains deeply cautious and often resistant to long-term integration.
For many foreign residents, Kumar’s story has become a sobering reminder that even decades of contribution and assimilation may not always guarantee permanence in modern Japan.
