Amid Japan’s immigration squeeze, foreign residents ask: Should we stay?

For foreign workers, Japan has long offered a familiar trade-off: lower salaries and a demanding work culture in exchange for safety, public order, and an enviable cost of living compared with other rich nations. Combined with world-class transit and exceptional food, the pros outweighed the cons for most. Today, that calculation is breaking down.

A plummeting yen has eroded global earning power, while inflation and rising rents are steadily chipping away at Japan’s affordability advantage. At the same time, policy shifts — from sharp hikes for visa and permanent residency fees to new powers allowing the government to revoke permanent residency — signal a move toward stricter oversight.