The government tightened the Management/Business Visa rules by raising the required capital to 30 million yen and adding a full-time employee requirement, aiming to curb fraudulent paper companies. Immigration investigators are conducting on-site checks and have found cases of non-existent offices. Since the reform, new applications have fallen by about 96%, raising concerns that genuine long-time entrepreneurs may be forced to leave or close. Officials say they will monitor for at least a year before reconsidering the criteria, but critics warn that a blanket standard could harm small, legitimate businesses.