This article is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Read the Japanese original（日本語版を読む）
In light of the tension in the Middle East, screening for 短期滞在 visas is expected to place even more weight on proof that you will certainly return home once the planned period of stay ends. Screening is said to have the potential to become stricter in several respects, including applications made from a third country and credit checks on the inviting company.
A guide for people who want to know how the situation in the Middle East as of April 2026 may affect screening for Japanese 短期滞在 visas.
Proof that you will certainly return to your own country once the planned period of stay ends.
In screening for 短期滞在 visas, what the 地方出入国在留管理局 (Regional Immigration Services Bureau) and Japanese diplomatic missions abroad look at most closely is whether you will certainly return to your own country once the planned period of stay ends. If the situation in the Middle East worsens and security and the economy there become unstable, the 地方出入国在留管理局 is said to be more likely to suspect that a person may enter Japan under the name of 短期滞在, for sightseeing or the like, and then apply for refugee status, or overstay. For applications from Middle Eastern countries, the bar for material proving that you have no need to remain in Japan — your occupation, assets and family situation at home — is expected to become distinctly higher.
It is also said that more people from the Middle East who have taken temporary refuge in neighbouring countries or in Europe are applying at a Japanese embassy in a third country where they do not live. Such applications are treated as cases where it is unclear where the person would return to, and cases of visas becoming markedly harder to obtain, or being refused, are expected to increase.
Landing examination at airports may be carried out more slowly and carefully.
The proposed online pre-travel screening system is also said to be part of a strengthening of security prompted by this instability. With the integration with the My Number Card (特定在留カード, Specified Residence Card) and the full introduction of advance screening ahead, landing examination at airports may take longer than before for people arriving from the Middle East. Even if you hold a visa, the risk of being refused landing is expected to rise if inconsistencies appear during the airport interview about your booked return flight or about how your costs during the stay will be met.
Closed airspace and cancelled flights may cause visas to expire, and screening for business purposes is expected to become stricter.
Closed airspace and cancelled flights caused by the situation in the Middle East may also affect the validity of a visa. Cases are expected in which a visa is issued but entry is delayed because a local airport is closed, and the visa expires. Because a visa cannot be extended as a rule, you would have to gather the documents again and reapply. For short stays for business purposes as well, considerations of economic security may weigh more heavily. In particular, for entry for business talks in the energy field or in high technology, credit checks on the inviting company are expected to become stricter.
Showing a strong guarantee of return, avoiding applications from a third country, and strengthening the guarantee from the inviter.
Applying for a visa in an unstable international situation is said to be a field that calls for reading the currents of international politics, not merely a clerical procedure. On current expectations, it is hard to see the bar for entering Japan coming down unless the situation in the Middle East calms.
Proof that you will certainly return home once the planned period of stay ends — in other words, that you have no need to remain in Japan — is expected to matter most.
Screening has always tended to be strict in such cases, but at present it is treated as unclear where the person would return to, and cases of visas becoming even harder to obtain, or being refused, are expected to increase.
In particular, for entry for business talks in the energy field or in high technology, credit checks on the inviting company are expected to become stricter.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.