The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Japanese government is set to raise the limits on residence status fees and introduce an online prescreening system for foreign travelers coming to Japan, according to the government's proposal to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The government presented the revision to the Liberal Democratic Party Judicial Affairs Division on Wednesday and intends to submit the bill to the special Diet session.

The current upper limit is set at 10,000 yen to change residence status. The bill proposes setting a 100,000-yen cap to change or renew residence status and a 300,000-yen cap for permanent residence status. Specific amounts will be decided by the Cabinet in fiscal 2026.

The revenue will be used for various measures, such as those to "realize a society of well-ordered and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals," which are promoted by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The government also aims to introduce an online prescreening system, called JESTA, by fiscal 2028 to tighten immigration control. The system, modeled after such systems as the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, is also meant to reduce the burden of immigration screenings as more tourists enter the country.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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February 26, 2026 07:32 ET (12:32 GMT)

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