Indian Restaurateur in Japan Breaks Down After Visa Renewal Rejected Under New Immigration Rules

An Indian restaurateur living in Japan for nearly three decades broke down emotionally during a public event after Japanese authorities rejected the renewal of his business visa under the country’s revised immigration rules.

Manish Kumar, who operates an Indian restaurant in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo, said the Immigration Services Agency denied his visa renewal application, leaving him uncertain about his family’s future and forcing him to prepare for a possible return to India.

During an emotional speech delivered at an event on May 13, Kumar tearfully explained how the decision had deeply affected his family. A video of the speech has since gone viral on social media.

“My children were born here and are now in high school; they can only speak Japanese and have only Japanese friends,” Kumar said while struggling to hold back tears. “I worked hard and even bought a house. To tell me unilaterally to go back to India — how is that humane?”

Kumar said he had spent nearly 30 years building a life in Japan with the support of local authorities, customers, and the community. He added that he had operated his restaurant successfully for 18 years and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

“I’ve worked hard to get this far thanks to the support from fellow chefs and customers,” he said. “It’s cruel to tell people to return to their home country just because the rules have suddenly changed.”

Reports suggest Kumar continued renewing his business visa over the years instead of applying for permanent residency or Japanese citizenship. Under Japan’s revised immigration regulations, he reportedly failed to meet the updated requirements.

Japan recently tightened its Business Manager Visa rules, increasing the minimum capital requirement from 5 million yen to 30 million yen, equivalent to around 190,000 US dollars. Authorities stated that the changes were introduced to prevent misuse of the visa programme for migration purposes after investigations reportedly uncovered shell companies operating under the system.

According to reports, applicants and employees are now also expected to demonstrate Japanese language proficiency, generally around the JLPT N2 level.

Japanese media outlets have reported a sharp decline in business manager visa applications since the new rules came into effect, with applications reportedly dropping by 96%.

Meanwhile, a Change.org petition requesting a review of the revised visa policy has collected nearly 60,000 signatures and was recently submitted to Japan’s Immigration Services Agency.

Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda defended the stricter rules earlier this week, stating that concerns over misuse of the visa programme for migration had largely been addressed.

The incident has sparked widespread online debate regarding Japan’s immigration policies and the challenges faced by long-term foreign residents who have deep social and family ties within the country.