About Juncho

Juncho (順調, "going smoothly") tracks changes to Japan's immigration rules for people who live here on a visa or are working toward permanent residence.

2026 and 2027 bring more change than most residents have seen at once: higher fees, a stricter permanent residence guideline, PR that can be revoked for deliberate non-payment, and a plan to count unpaid health insurance against ordinary renewals. Most of it is only published in Japanese, on pages scattered across ISA, the ministries and city offices. Juncho collects it in English, Japanese and Chinese, one page per change, with a link back to the original.

How entries are written

Each entry is written from the official Japanese text and checked against it before it goes up. Every entry shows the date it was last checked and links to its sources, official ones first.

Every entry also has a status, so you can see how settled it is:

• In force: already applies.
• Decided: officially adopted, with a start date that hasn't arrived yet.
• Planned: the government has said it plans this, but it isn't in a published rule yet.
• Proposed: a draft out for public comment, or a bill not yet passed.
• Reported: reported by practitioners or the press, with no official text to cite.

When we get something wrong, we fix it and add a dated note to the entry saying what changed. If you spot an error, tell us.

What to do now

The what to do now pages turn the published rules into what to keep, check and do on each route. They're written and checked the same way as the entries. Each point has a label showing whether it's a legal duty, something officials check, or a habit we suggest.

Translations

The English entry is the original. The Japanese and Chinese versions are translated from it, and the facts (dates, status, sources) always come from the English entry. If the English text changes after a translation was made, the translated page says so and links to the English version.

What Juncho isn't

Juncho isn't a law firm or a gyoseishoshi office. It doesn't prepare applications or advise on individual cases, and it has no connection to the Immigration Services Agency. For your own case, ask ISA's information center (外国人在留総合インフォメーションセンター, 0570-013904), your city's international association, or a licensed gyoseishoshi.

What's next

We're building an app that reminds you of your visa dates and your health insurance, pension and resident tax payments, and keeps a record that you paid on time. If you'd like to hear when it's ready, tick the box when you subscribe.