🚨 What Exactly Is “Illegal Entry”!?? 🌏💥

📅 This article was written on Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Hello 👋

I’m Hiroshi Kawana, an administrative scrivener 🙇‍♂️✨

🏋️‍♂️ On a personal note, I’ve recently started going to the gym 💪

I’m not an athlete, so what matters is consistency.

The same goes for this article — “steady effort brings results” 📈

No need to rush. Let’s take our time🌿

👀 What Is “Illegal Entry”?

Those who enter Japan without a valid passport,

or who possess one but enter without obtaining landing permission,

are considered illegal entrants 🚫✈️

This also includes those who continue to stay in Japan illegally afterward —

the so-called overstayers ⚠️

⚖️ Illegal Entrants vs. Overstayers

Here’s the key difference 💡

Illegal entrant → already illegal at the moment of entry ❌

Overstayer → entered lawfully, but stayed beyond the authorized period ⏰

In short, it depends on whether the act was illegal from the beginning.

Also, illegal entrants are not eligible for the Voluntary Departure Program 🚷

🚢 What Is “Illegal Landing”?

When someone enters Japan without general landing or special landing permission,

that’s called illegal landing 🔍

It’s distinct from “illegal entry.”

You might think, “That’s such a tiny distinction!” 🤔

But the law is built upon precisely these fine-grained logical frameworks 🧩

🇯🇵 Japan’s Current Labor Reality

Japan is facing an unprecedented labor shortage 😰

Almost every industry is struggling to find enough workers.

Relying on foreign nationals to fill those gaps is one option 🫱🌍

And of course, working in Japan offers benefits for foreigners too 💰🤝

At first glance, it seems like a win-win situation — but is it really?

🤔 Is That Really Okay?

Tasks that Japanese people avoid,

and jobs shunned by people in other developed countries —

should we simply pass them on to foreigners?

And what about the burden placed on

the 99.7% of Japanese businesses that are small or medium-sized enterprises 🏭?

That’s another serious issue.

🌱 What Needs to Change…

Even SME owners have issues to reflect on.

Is it really fine to keep operating under the traditional system 🏢?

Shouldn’t we create workplaces where young people can dream ✨

and pour in their passion 🔥?

I may sound like I’m grumbling 😅

but I truly believe this:

Japan can build a better future together with foreign residents 🌈

The road ahead is challenging, but hope is very much alive 🌸

See you next time! 👋🌞

📖 Reference

Yasutsugu Yamawaki (2020)

Practical Guide to the Immigration Control Act and Management of Foreign Labor Japan Kajo Publishing