Japan's Tightened Visa Rules Force Closure of Rural Sri Lankan Curry Shop

Mahendra Dharmapriya closed Daiya Ceylon, his Sri Lankan curry shop in Shimotsuke, 66 miles north of Tokyo. He moved to Japan in 2015 and served creamy lentils, fish curry, egg hoppers, and ginger-infused black tea. Unable to meet the new visa rules, he handed out unopened bags of spices and cassava chips before planning to return to Sri Lanka.

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The government raised the minimum capital for a business-manager visa from $31,000 to $188,000 and added a requirement to employ at least one full-time staff member. The changes affect roughly 47,000 foreign visa holders.

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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, elected last year, has overseen the shift. The government says the tighter rules are intended to restrict the flow of foreigners. A nationalist “Japan First” movement claims foreigners exploit visa rules to stay indefinitely.

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• Mahendra Dharmapriya – owner of Daiya Ceylon.

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• Sanae Takaichi – Prime Minister.

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• Approximately 47,000 foreign business-manager visa holders, a subset of the roughly 3 percent foreign resident population.

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• Nationalist activists – “Japan First” supporters.

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• Demographic experts – warn of labor shortages.

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Foreign residents make up about 3 percent of Japan’s population. Roughly 47,000 foreigners hold business-manager visas. Business-manager visas now require $188,000 capital and at least one full-time employee, up from $31,000.

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Higher capital and staffing thresholds threaten enterprises that lack the resources to comply. The requirement to employ one full-time staff member is intended to create jobs for Japanese workers. Closures like Dharmapriya’s reduce cultural variety and may worsen labor shortages linked to Japan’s declining population.

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The administration argues stricter visa criteria are needed to control immigration flow, ensure foreign businesses contribute to the economy, and prevent misuse of the business-manager category. Officials say the higher capital threshold is part of the effort to restrict the flow of foreigners.

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Experts say Japan must expand immigration to address labor gaps and offset demographic decline. Critics argue that the new thresholds could exacerbate labor shortages by limiting the pool of foreign entrepreneurs. Nationalist activists back tighter rules, while conservatives claim visa rules let foreigners stay indefinitely without sufficient economic return.

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> “I felt so alone,” Dharmapriya said. “I have no hope for the future right now.” — Mahendra Dharmapriya, Restaurateur

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Sources do not indicate how many foreign-owned businesses have closed since the rule change, nor the government’s timeline for assessing the reforms’ economic impact.

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