4th Report of the Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 17, 1997)

8-(1) Review of landing examination criteria

1. Complainant: Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Tokyo Chamber of Commerce

2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Justice

3. Background:

Foreigners entering or residing in Japan are required to obtain a status of residence as set down in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law. The activities they are permitted to engage in and the length of the period of stay are determined by their respective status of residence.

In the case of accepting foreigners coming to Japan to work, to control entry and stay appropriately, under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law from the viewpoint of avoiding any adverse effects on domestic industries and daily life, and preventing persons from working or staying illegally, the entry of foreigners is controlled by setting down in statutes the size of business, work experience, salary level and so on to determine the type and scope of work they may engage in.

(1) In general, when work is the purpose of stay, "Investment/Business Manager," "Engineer," "Specialist in Humanities/Inter-national Service" or "Intra-company transferee" may conform.

1) In order to obtain the status of residence of under the "Investment/Business Manager" securing premises to be used as an office for the business in Japan and two or more full-time employees and so on are needed. The maximum period of stay under this status of residence is three years.
2) In order to obtain the status of residence of the " Engineer " or " Specialist in Humanities/Inter-national Service," the individual must have a contract with a public or private organization in Japan and meet certain educational and work experience requirements and so on. The maximum period of stay under this permission is one year.
3) In order to obtain the status of residence of the "Intra-company transferee", the individual must have been employed by a head office or branch of a foreign company for one year or more, works in Japan in connection with a transfer by the head office or branch to Japan, and will not be working in the company's Japanese office for more than five years and meet other requirements. The maximum period of stay under this permission is one year.

(2) Regarding an extension of period of stay a foreigner in Japan can continue to reside under the same status of residence when the Minister of Justice determines, upon presentation of supporting documents submitted by a foreigner, that there is a reasonable grounds to grant the extension of the period of stay.

4. Complaint:

(1) Foreigners residing in Japan whose status of residence is "Intra-company transferee" must renew an extension of their period of stay every year if they desire to remain in Japan for work and extensions are granted a maximum of four times only. The exception is when the individual become a board member of his company's Japanese branch; in this case, there is a possibility for change of status, but this does not apply when the operation employs only one or two persons, including the individual in question.

When a Belgian company determines that an extension of period of stay is necessary for its non-Japanese employees, these extensions should be granted.

(2) When a Japanese company summoned two Thai nationals from a Thai customer company to be joint managers, their applications were held up for six months and finally refused on the grounds that the company did not meet requirements for capital as a trading company. When inquiries were made, the persons involved were told that they could not be told the details about the requirements and the complainant believes that these requirements should be clearly described.

Subsequently, the office was expanded and more capital acquired, and when the individuals submitted new applications, they were granted certificate of Eligibility for a period of six months. These two persons are currently receiving salaries, and paying social insurance and pension contributions and taxes in exactly the same way as Japanese, as company board members. However, there is no guarantee that they will again be granted if they return to Thailand and apply again, and the complainant believes that status of residence should always be granted, when the persons are employed as a same status of residence in exactly the same way as Japanese.

5. Results of deliberation:

Growing interdependence in the international community means increased movements not only of goods and capital, but of people as well. The movements of investments and people are complementary, and beginning a new business across national borders often necessitates the movement of people, along with new management resources, technology and know-how. The movement of such factors of production can also contribute to invigorating Japan's economy. Accordingly, overly stringent restrictions on the movement of people can hamper investment in Japan and have a negative effect of our country's economic growth.

From this viewpoint, the following revisions with regard to specific criteria for status of residence for foreigners working in a legitimate business in Japan should be reviewed so as to remove obstacles to their entry or stay in Japan.

(1) Regarding the application and the examination criteria for the status of residence, further clarification and transparency should be achieved by the explicit stating of the interpretation and application of the contents of the status of residence and its examination criteria in order to facilitate the entry and stay in Japan of persons engaged in legitimate business.

(2) Regarding the maximum term of stay of five years for Intra-company Transferee, the ministry concerned has indicated that this provision will be examined during FY1997 and the results of the consideration of this matter should be given as early as possible, to extend this term for persons concerned in order to facilitate the conduct of their legitimate business.

(3) Regarding the status of residence for Investor/Business Manager, the rules will be applied flexibly in addition to the present formulaic requirements such as the number of employees or the size of office, in cases where this involves a change of status from Intra-company Transferee, to permit a change of status when the applicant proves his business to be in a healthy state.

Government decision (March 25,1997)

7-(1) Review of landing examination criteria

(1) Regarding the application and the examination criteria for the status of residence, further clarification and transparency will be achieved by the explicit stating of the interpretation and application of the contents of the status of residence and its examination criteria in order to facilitate the entry and stay in Japan of persons engaged in legitimate business.

(2) Regarding the maximum term of stay of five years for Intra-company Transferee, the results of the consideration of this matter shall be given as early as possible in FY 1997, to extend this term for persons concerned in order to facilitate the conduct of their legitimate business.

(3) Regarding the status of residence for Investor/Business Manager, the rules will be applied flexibly, in cases where this involves a change of status from Intra-company Transferee, to permit a change of status when the applicant proves his business to be in a healthy state, in addition to the present formulaic requirements such as the number of employees or the size of office.