咖哩店如何被捲入日本的移民管制行動（2/2）

Recently The New York Times reported the following:

How Curry Shops Got Caught in Japan’s Immigration Crackdown (2/2)

Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, new visa rules are forcing some foreign business owners, who have put down roots in Japan, to leave.

The NYT - By Javier C. Hernández and Kiuko Notoya - Reporting from Shimotsuke, Japan

May 30, 2026

Updated 8:36 a.m. ET

(continue)

Japanese activists are pushing Ms. Takaichi’s administration to reconsider the changes. A petition has gathered more than 60,000 signatures.

Manish Kumar, an Indian restaurant owner, went public this month with his criticism of the rules. He spoke in an emotional video about living in Japan for 30 years, studying Japanese and raising his children in the country.

“They haven’t done anything wrong,” he said of his children. “I think it’s cruel to suddenly be told: ‘The rules have changed. You must go back.’”

The video prompted intense backlash, with some commentators accusing Mr. Kumar of exploiting the system by staying in Japan for so long.

Ms. Takaichi’s administration says the new rules have been a success. There are now an average of 70 applications per month for business manager visas, compared with 1,700 under the old system, a 96 percent drop.

Kimi Onoda, the minister who oversees economic security and policies on foreigners, said at a recent news conference that the changes had helped dispel concerns that the visas “might be abused as a means of immigration.”

The abrupt shift in policy has been tough for many restaurant workers, who have to pack up their lives in about a month.

Mr. Dharmapriya recalled his visit to an immigration office in April, when he learned that his visa renewal application had been rejected because he did not hire an additional employee. He was so devastated that it took him seven hours to drive back home — it usually takes two.

He said he was saddened by the perception among some Japanese that immigrants are a source of problems. “We don’t cost anyone money, we pay our taxes, we pay our bills,” he said.

In early May, Mr. Dharmapriya held a farewell buffet for his customers, serving dishes like red rice and dal curry. He was expecting about 20 people, but more than 70 attended, bringing Japanese sweets and other gifts.

He will soon return to his hometown in Sri Lanka. He has not yet told his family why he is leaving.

“If I have the chance,” he said, “I would come back to Japan tomorrow if I could.”

Translation

咖哩店如何被捲入日本的移民政管制行動（2/2）

在首相高市早苗的領導下，新的簽證規則迫使一些在日本紮根的外國經營企業的人離開

（繼續）

日本活動人士正在敦促高市早苗政府重新考慮這些變更。一份請願書已收集到超過6萬個簽名。

印度餐廳老闆Manish Kumar本月公開批評了這些規定。他在一段充滿感情的影片中講述了自己在日本生活了30年，學習日語，並在日本撫養孩子的經歷。

他談到自己的孩子時說道:“他們沒有做錯任何事”; “我覺得突然被告知‘規則變了，你必須回去’，這太殘酷了。”

這段影片引發了強烈的反彈，一些評論家指責Mr. Kumar生利用制度漏洞在日本滯留這麼久。

高市政府表示，新規取得了成功。現在，商務經理簽證的月均申請量為70份，而舊制度下為1700份，下降了96%。

負責經濟安全和外國人政策的大臣小野田紀美(Kimi Onoda)在最近的新聞發布會上表示，這些變化有助於消除人們對簽證「可能被濫用為移民手段」的擔憂。

政策的突然轉變給許多餐飲業員工帶來了沉重打擊，他們不得不在一個月左右的時間內收拾行李離開。

Dharmapriya先生回憶起四月份去移民局的經歷，當時他得知自己的簽證續約申請被拒，原因是他沒有額外僱用一名員工。他情緒低落，開車回家花了七個小時 - 通常只需要兩個小時。

他說，一些日本人認為移民是麻煩的根源，這讓他感到難過。 他說:「我們不對任何人造成負担，我們按時納稅，支付自己的賬單」。

五月初，Dharmapriya先生為他的顧客舉辦了一場告別自助餐，供應紅米飯和扁豆咖哩等菜餚。他原本預計會有大約20人參加，結果來了70多人，他們帶來了日本甜點和其他禮物。

他即將返回斯里蘭卡的家鄉。他還沒有告訴家人他離開日本的原因。

他說:“如果有機會”，“可以的話我明天就想回到日本。”

So, Japan is scrutinizing foreigners who live in the country on so-called business manager visas. Recently, a wave of nationalist sentiment has swept the country with some activists calling for even stricter controls as part of a “Japan First” movement. The administration says the new rules have been a success as applications per month for business manager visas have dropped  96 percent. Apparently, while the changes may help dispel concerns that the visas “might be abused as a means of immigration” , the fact is that Japan's population is decreasing.