According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on the 4th, Japan's Immigration Services Agency announced the new guidelines for applying for permanent residency permits for foreigners on the same day. The new plan will raise the threshold for foreigners to apply for permanent residence in Japan. The report said that the requirements for applying for a permanent residence permit under the current guideline plan include good conduct and the ability to independently maintain a living. The new guide plan changes the original “ability to independently maintain a living” to “having the financial conditions not lower than the average of Japanese families”; in addition, additional requirements for Japanese language proficiency require reaching the level of “being able to use language independently”; for the spouses of Japanese citizens or permanent residents, the previous requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit were “3 years of marriage and 1 year of residence,” while the new guide plan raised this requirement to “5 years of marriage and 3 years of residence.” The report also said that the new guidelines plan will be implemented in April next year after public comments have been solicited.

According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on the 4th, Japan's Immigration Services Agency announced the new guidelines for applying for permanent residency permits for foreigners on the same day. The new plan will raise the threshold for foreigners to apply for permanent residence in Japan. The report said that the requirements for applying for a permanent residence permit under the current guideline plan include good conduct and the ability to independently maintain a living. The new guide plan changes the original “ability to independently maintain a living” to “having the financial conditions not lower than the average of Japanese families”; in addition, additional requirements for Japanese language proficiency require reaching the level of “being able to use language independently”; for the spouses of Japanese citizens or permanent residents, the previous requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit were “3 years of marriage and 1 year of residence,” while the new guide plan raised this requirement to “5 years of marriage and 3 years of residence.” The report also said that the new guidelines plan will be implemented in April next year after public comments have been solicited.