TOKYO - Japan is reportedly preparing to add about 230 immigration personnel during fiscal 2026.

The proposed increase would include about 50 immigration control officers and 180 immigration examiners, according to a July 20 Japanese-language Yomiuri Shimbun report. The newspaper said the government plans to approve an amendment to the relevant staffing ordinance by the end of July.

Many of the additional control officers would reportedly be assigned to Ibaraki Prefecture, with others reinforcing immigration operations at airports and seaports. The Immigration Services Agency said 13,435 foreign nationals placed in deportation or departure-order procedures during 2025 were found to have engaged in unauthorised work. Ibaraki accounted for 3,518 of those cases, the highest prefectural total.

The staffing plan follows a May 22 enforcement package issued by the Justice Ministry, Immigration Services Agency, National Police Agency and labour ministry. The package calls for stronger joint investigations, closer information-sharing and expanded action against unauthorised employment. It forms part of the government’s intensified Zero Illegal Stayers Plan.

Japan’s January policy measures also called for stronger immigration and residence management through improved personnel, digital systems and closer coordination among government agencies. The programme covers entry screening, residence-status compliance, unauthorised employment and procedures for people ordered to leave Japan.

Japan recorded 68,488 overstayers on January 1, according to the agency’s latest official figures. The total fell by 6,375, or 8.5%, from a year earlier. Former short-term visitors accounted for 41,607, followed by 9,323 former technical interns and 7,306 people who had held designated-activities status.

The agency is also managing a larger foreign-resident population and record international arrivals. Japan had 4,125,395 foreign residents at the end of 2025, up 9.5% from a year earlier. Foreign entries reached 42,430,930 during 2025, an increase of 15.4%.

The reported increase would occur outside the government’s regular annual staffing cycle. The additional positions would take effect after the Cabinet approves and publishes the ordinance amendment.