I've been working in Japan for three years. I've been paying taxes, paying pension, spending money in the local economy, learning Japanese, and participating in the local community.

During those three years, I was interested in the prospect of gaining permanent residency.

But given the amount of anti-foreigner laws being passed by the Japanese government, I don't see the point in trying to pursue living in a country where you have to walk on egg shells your entire life or risk being removed. This is in addition to only making around a $25,000 USD salary due to how weak the yen currently is.

I understand that this is the point of these laws; to dissuade foreigners from living in Japan. It's still disappointing. I know several other people in a similar position to mine.

This seems like a missed opportunity by the Japanese government to attract youthful foreigners who are interested in Japan and Japanese culture. Especially considering the declining Japanese population.

I've had permanent residency in Japan since 2001, and this new review system is significantly tougher than it was when I applied. There is a zero-tolerance approach to minor infractions (traffic violations, tax filings, national health insurance requirements), much higher fees, and an explicit income and pension requirement (the minimum annual income is actually pretty low, at something like 20,000 USD per year plus 5000 per additional family member). Had these rules applied 25 years ago, I probably would have been rejected due to a few parking or speeding tickets.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858810 [Japan moves to tighten rules for foreigners] (4 days ago, 666 comments, 206 points)

Doesn't Japan have a population crisis? Why are they making it more difficult to move there?