HIMALAYAN CARAVAN, a Nepalese-Indian restaurant in east Tokyo, has sat on its quiet street for two decades. Sanjay Sahani, its Nepalese owner, first came to Japan as a chef in 2006. His ¥850 ($5) curry-and-naan set lunch draws a steady crowd, from office workers to pensioners. The neighbours and his regulars are like family, he says.
According to the internal-affairs ministry, fewer than 9% of Japanese firms hold ¥30m or more in capital. The new threshold is therefore beyond the reach of most curry houses. (Himalayan Caravan)
Mr Sahani is not unusual. Japan has little immigration—foreigners are just 3% of the population, compared with 15% across the OECD—yet Indian restaurants are everywhere. The country has between 4,000 and 5,000 of them, more than it has McDonald’s outlets, despite having only 59,000 Indian residents. Most are owned and staffed by Nepalese immigrants, who number around 300,000. Now they are in trouble. As Japanese politics turns against immigration, the government has tightened rules for the “business management” visa on which most foreign restaurateurs depend. The intended target lies elsewhere. Yet the humble curry house has become a casualty.
In recent years officials have grown suspicious that some foreigners, often rich Chinese, have used shell companies to secure visas. In October the government raised the visa’s minimum capital requirement from ¥5m ($31,500) to ¥30m ($188,000). It also required applicants to employ at least one full-time Japanese worker or permanent resident. Existing holders have a three-year grace period.
The effects have been dramatic. Applications for the visa have fallen by 96%. According to the internal-affairs ministry, fewer than 9% of Japanese firms hold ¥30m or more in capital. The new threshold is therefore beyond the reach of most curry houses. The staffing rule is no kinder. “Even Japanese firms cannot find Japanese workers. How are we supposed to?” says Anju Khatri, 32, another Nepalese restaurant owner. She has a point. Walk into a local shop in Tokyo these days and you are as likely to be served by a worker from South-East Asia as by a Japanese cashier.
The broader loss would be cultural as well as economic. Immigrant cooks are part of what gives Tokyo its culinary range. If Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and other immigrant-run restaurants disappear, salarymen will lose some favourite lunch options. Naan would want that.
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