Why has Japan set up a task force to deal with foreigners?

By Chris Lau, Mai Takiguchi and Soyon Nishioka, CNN

Tokyo (CNN) — Japan has worked hard to attract foreigners to boost its sluggish economy but now the perception there are too many has prompted the creation of a new task force, as competition for votes heats up ahead of Sunday’s national election.

The issue is on the political agenda ahead of the upper house election, in part because of a fringe party promoting “Japanese first” policies, in a nod to the nativist rhetoric of US President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba launched the task force – formally named the Office for the Promotion of a Society of Harmonious Coexistence with Foreign Nationals – on Tuesday, citing “crimes or nuisance behaviors committed by some foreign nationals,” as well as “inappropriate use of various” government systems.

The world’s fourth-largest economy has a long history of strict immigration policies, and a strong cultural strain of isolationism.

But with a rapidly aging population and plunging birth rates, Japan has been gradually opening up to foreign workers and seeking more international tourists.

Pulling up the drawbridge could exacerbate the demographic crisis and jeopardize the tourism industry, experts warn.

Here is what we know about the task force and why foreigners have become an election issue:

What will the task force do?

Ishiba described the new office as a “command center” coordinating policies for both Japanese citizens and foreigners. Among the areas it will cover are immigration, land acquisitions by foreigners, and unpaid social insurance, Ishiba added.

He pledged to “take strict action against those who do not follow the rules.”

There have been no more concrete details, but the government said last month it plans to revise policies to ban tourists and foreign residents with unpaid medical bills from getting a visa or returning to the country.

Why are Japanese people frustrated?

Though Japan’s population of foreign residents has jumped from 2.23 million to 3.77 million over the past decade, they still only account for 3% of the total population of more than 120 million people.

Much more notable is a surge in tourism over the past few years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A record 21.5 million foreign tourists visited Japan in the first half of this year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Last year, Japan was the world’s 8th most-visited country by tourists, according to UN Tourism, and the top in Asia.

The influx has irritated many residents, whose lives have been disrupted by tourists flocking to their neighborhoods for sightseeing, shopping or a scenic photo opportunity.

It prompted authorities to temporarily block a popular view of Mount Fuji from a convenience store due to a surge in residents’ complaints of overcrowding, and a hot spring resort area to warn against low water levels as visitors demanded private baths.

Some blame tourists for triggering inflation and contributing to shortages of certain supplies, including rice, Japan’s most cherished staple.

Others take issue with foreign residents reportedly evading public health insurance and investors snatching up properties in the country and pushing up prices.

A retiree in Tokyo who used to work for a trading company told CNN that he believed foreign workers were taking Japanese people’s jobs.

“They came to Japan because they couldn’t make a living in their countries,” said the 78-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussion.

“Because the cultures are different, it is impossible to live together.”

Office worker Kouyama Nanami, 23, said she read on the news that a lot of welfare assistance goes to non-Japanese residents.

“I think the aids haven’t been prioritized for Japanese people,” she said.

Is the frustration fair?

Shunsuke Tanabe, a sociology professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, said many of the negative beliefs around migration – such as the idea of rising crime – stem from falsehoods and misleading claims from the campaign trail.

“There are visibly more foreigners around; they start to assume that public safety must be getting worse, too,” he told CNN.

“As a result, negative campaigns spread on social media resonate with many, leading them to think that parties promising to ‘protect’ society from these imagined threats are the better choice,” he added.

He noted that crime in Japan has declined in the past 20 years, despite an uptick in tourists and foreign residents. “There is virtually no difference between Japanese nationals and foreign nationals in terms of crime rates,” he said.

In 2023, 9,726 foreigners were arrested for alleged crimes, accounting for 5.3％ of total people arrested, according to a white paper by the Ministry of Justice. The figure includes both tourists and foreign residents.

Why is this an issue now?

Ishiba’s hand has been forced as the election campaign, entering its final stretch, has focused on anger over irresponsible foreign citizens and unruly tourists, according to political pundits.

Sanseito, a minor right-wing party that has been rallying against immigrants and advancing “Japanese first” policies, has been gaining traction and media coverage.

The upstart party is far from being able to compete for a majority, but is projected to win 10 to 15 seats, which could chip away at the majority of Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito last year lost their majority in the lower house, for the first time in 15 years. Ishiba could face further pressure to step down if they lose the upper house this weekend.

“Anti-immigration parties such as the Sanseito are using this as an opportunity to take advantage of public misconceptions, public fears about immigration and about foreigners to take away votes from the LDP,” said Jeffrey Hall, a Japanese studies lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba.

While out campaigning Sunday, Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya said his party was “simply saying it’s unreasonable to spend public money to hire foreigners or hand over profitable businesses” to foreigners.

“This is not discrimination or hate speech,” he said.

Hall said setting up the new office could help the LDP demonstrate “they’re being tough on the issue,” though there will be a price to pay.

“If Japan becomes a society that strictly monitors foreigners to the point where they feel unwelcome, it could have a damaging effect on the ability of businesses to get the foreign workers they need,” Hall said.

Why does Japan need foreign workers?

The country’s birth rate plunged to another record low of 1.15 in 2024, well below the 2.1 needed to keep a population stable in the absence of immigration, meaning that the working population will continue to shrink in decades to come. This is worsening the outlook for a Japanese economy that has already suffered stagnation since the early 1990s.

To attract foreign workers, the government has been easing requirements for visas and trying to improve conditions.

The number of foreign employees hit a record high of 2.3 million last October, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The government has been granting “specific skilled workers” visas to work in a range of industries from nursing and hospitality to construction and aviation, the Foreign Ministry’s website shows.

During Tuesday’s announcement, Ishiba acknowledged the importance of Japan remaining open-minded.

“As Japan faces the challenges of a declining birthrate and aging population, it is essential for us to incorporate the vitality of the international community, through the acceptance of a certain number of foreign workers and the expansion of inbound tourism, to ensure a smooth transition to a growth-oriented economy,” he said.

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CNN’s Hanako Montgomery and Junko Ogura contributed reporting.