Japan’s immigration agency is tightening the business and management visa by raising the capital requirement from 5 million to 30 million yen, requiring at least one full‑time employee, and mandating verification of business plans with professional checks by CPAs or SME consultants. The reform targets fraud such as shell companies and dummy business plans that improperly enable visa grants. As of the end of 2024, about 41,000 foreigners held the visa, with Chinese applicants making up roughly half (about 20,000), a 2.8‑fold rise since 2015. The crackdown is prompted by Zero Covid era factors and a surge in migration interest, but brokers’ schemes and other visa detours may persist, suggesting the effect may be limited in the short term.