Five year Japanese visa possible as immigration bill passes
 

From the Japan Times:

The Japanese government signed off on a bill Friday for overhauling the immigration system. The bill is an attempt to prevent illegal entry in Japan by handing full control of alien registration to the central government, and would also create a five year visa for those legally in Japan.

The bill proposes that the government take charge of the act of issuing registration cards (sometimes known as a "gaijin card") to foreigners living in Japan more than three months. The bill would also extend the maximum period of stay for foreign residents to five years, in principle, instead of three.

Full Article: Bill on immigration overhaul OK'd | Japan Times

Wow! This is indeed news!

Not that I will do me much good at the present time, but maybe in the future I will enjoy this law!
Really splendid, I've always been a bit worried when it comes to staying in Japan for a longer period without there being loads of trouble along with it.
It does seem though, as if it's going to get more difficult to get into Japan as well, but I suppose it's a good thing.

I`m far more interested in the prospect of this bill putting foreigners in the Juki Net system - which means a whole lot more to me than extended the length of a visa. (As it really isn`t that much of a pain to go over and renew your visa every time it runs out.)

Being in the Juki Net though is only a tiny step away from being normally listed on the Juminhyo which would be a really great thing for those living here very long term.

Ok, you lost me at "Juki Net" and "Juminhyo". Although I did google them just now, so I understand that they are some kind of registers. Got a nice explenation of "Juminhyo", but couldn't find that much about "Juki Net". Care to elaborate?

i agree with nyororin. three or five years, it doesn't matter that much. just got another three years. now getting jyuminhyo "status" would indeed mean a lot. also getting rid of the hated and annoying re-entry permit would also be nice.

i read somewhere that there are some thinking within the cabinet of in the future including foreigner in the resident registry. not sure about the time frame for that one though.

on the proposal, note that it is just the period, the visa procedure won't change, not that i would say japan is in any way stricter than any other country in that respect. continuing on the other parts in the proposal, there are still many unclear things, as having the immigration office doing the alien registration too. one good thing about having the local municipals taking care of the card is that it is in most cases much closer than to have to go to the immigration office.

I don`t think that you will actually have to go to the immigration office, but rather that they will put you into a national system - instead of having each local office keep track individually.

well, that is what i am hoping for too, but you can never be too certain. as i think it is written now, in the proposal, it says that you shall report to the immigration authorities any changes. there is a sentence that this can be made though the municipals, but my interpretation so far is that this will only be an exception. and as you know, everything in japan has to be done in person or through a physical proxy.

and yes, i have been wrong on many occasions before. so you might be right in the end, that it can still be done at the local 市役所 or 区役所.

According to the Japanese news, they will be utilizing the Juki Net system to also register foreigners. As you can register with Juki Net at any city/town office I don`t see why they`d make you report to the already overloaded immigration offices. It`s a change in the system - instead of just sticking your info in the town/city computers, they stick it into the national system.

ETA; The reason for utilizing the Juki Net was listed as being that it was ALREADY in place at offices, so there would be no major cost to switch to it.