Worked hard for 30 years: Indian eatery owner ordered to leave Japan, breaks down

An Indian restaurateur living in Japan for nearly 30 years broke down while speaking about being asked to return to India after authorities denied the renewal of his business visa under the country's tightened immigration rules.

In Short

• Indian restaurateur forced to close restaurant after visa renewal denied
• Kumar said his children were born in Japan and speak only Japanese
• Japan raised minimum capital requirement from ¥5 million to ¥30 million

An Indian restaurateur who has lived in Japan for nearly three decades broke down during an event while speaking about being asked to return to India and shut down a restaurant he had operated for years after his business manager visa renewal was denied under Japan’s tightened immigration rules.

Manish Kumar, who runs an Indian restaurant in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, said the Immigration Services Agency denied his application under the country’s revised immigration rules.

The restaurateur broke down while delivering an emotional speech at an event on May 13, saying, “My children only speak Japanese...and we’re told to go back to India.” A video of the gathering has since gone viral online.

Fighting back tears, Kumar, in a speech roughly translated from Japanese, said, “My children were born here and are now in high school; they can only speak Japanese and have only Japanese friends. I worked hard and even bought a house. To tell me unilaterally to go back to India - how is that humane?”

He also said that he had spent decades building a life in Japan with support from local authorities, customers and the community.

“I’ve worked hard to get this far thanks to the support” from fellow chefs and customers, he said, adding, “I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s cruel to tell people to return to their home country just because the rules have suddenly changed.”

It was unclear whether Kumar’s curry restaurant in Saitama, near Tokyo, is still operating.

JAPAN SEES 96% DROP IN BUSINESS MANAGER VISA

Japan revised its business manager visa rules late last year, raising the minimum capital requirement for applicants from 5 million to 30 million (around $190,000). Japanese media reports also said applications for business manager visas have fallen sharply since the revised requirements came into effect.

Authorities said the changes were introduced amid concerns that the visa system was being misused for migration purposes and following investigations that reportedly uncovered shell companies operating under the programme.

A Change.org petition seeking a review of the revised visa rules has gathered nearly 60,000 signatures and was submitted to Japan’s Immigration Services Agency this week.

Kimi Onoda defended the stricter rules earlier this week, saying concerns that the visa programme “might be misused for the purpose of migration have been largely allayed.”

The case has triggered wider discussion online over Japan’s immigration policies and the uncertainty faced by long-term foreign residents whose legal status has become complicated despite deep social roots in the country.

- Ends