Contents
Key points
- On October 29, 2026, the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) published a draft amendment to the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act and opened it for public comment until November 27, 2026.
- A new question, “Do you intend to comply with Japanese laws and regulations?”, would be added to the Disembarkation Card for Foreigner (the “ED card”) that you fill in when you land in Japan.
- The same question would also be added to the re-entry card used by foreign residents who return with a re-entry permit, and to the landing permission form for cruise ship passengers.
- Under the Immigration Control Act, landing is decided by fixed conditions, including the grounds for denial of landing in Article 5. The existing card questions follow these grounds.
- The amendment is planned to be promulgated in December 2026 and to take effect in January 2027. It is still a draft and may change.
Please read first
This article is based on the draft ordinance published for public comment. The content and the dates are not final. We will update this article when the final version is published.
1. What is changing
A foreign national who applies for landing in Japan must submit a Disembarkation Card for Foreigner (in Japanese, gaikokujin nyukoku kiroku) to the immigration inspector. The card asks for your name, date of birth, purpose of visit and other details, and it already contains three yes/no questions:
- Have you ever been deported from Japan, ordered to leave Japan, or refused entry to Japan?
- Have you ever been found guilty in a criminal case in Japan or in another country?
- Are you now carrying controlled substances, guns, crossbows, swords or explosives?
The draft adds a fourth question: “Do you intend to comply with Japanese laws and regulations?” (in Japanese, Anata wa, Nihon no horei o junshu suru ishi wa arimasu ka?). The front side of the card would have a new line, “4. Intent to comply with Japanese laws and regulations”, with boxes to tick.
The ISA explains the reason as follows. The number of foreign visitors is increasing, and there have been reports that some of them do not follow Japan’s laws and rules. The ISA considers it appropriate to check whether each person intends to comply with Japanese laws at the landing stage, and then decide whether to permit landing.
Note on the answer boxes
In the draft form, the answer boxes for the new question are printed in the order “No / Yes”, unlike the other questions (“Yes / No”). The final card may differ, but read each question carefully before ticking a box.
The English wording in this article is our own translation. An official English version of the new question has not been published yet.
2. Which forms are affected
The ISA’s summary mentions only the disembarkation card, but the draft ordinance itself revises three forms.
| Form | Who uses it | Change in the draft |
|---|---|---|
| Disembarkation Card for Foreigner (Form 6) | Foreign nationals entering Japan as new arrivals, for example tourists and people entering with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) | New question 4 added |
| Re-entry card (Form 6-2) | Foreign residents returning to Japan with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit | New question 3 added |
| Application for landing permission for cruise ship passengers (Form 17-2) | Passengers of designated cruise ships, filed by the ship’s captain or operator | The statement in the form now also confirms that each passenger intends to comply with Japanese laws |
If you already live in Japan
The change is not only for tourists. If you live in Japan and travel abroad with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit, the re-entry card you fill in on your return would include the new question. On the current re-entry card, Special Permanent Residents only sign and do not answer the questions, and the draft keeps this rule.
Visit Japan Web
New arrivals can currently submit the disembarkation card information online through Visit Japan Web instead of on paper. People re-entering with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit cannot use this online submission.
3. Background: the grounds for denial of landing (Article 5)
To understand what the new question may mean, it helps to know how landing is decided. The conditions for landing are set out in Article 7, paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act. In short, you must:
- hold a valid passport and, where required, a valid visa,
- plan activities in Japan that are genuine and fit a status of residence (and meet the landing criteria, where they apply),
- plan a period of stay that fits the rules, and
- not fall under any of the grounds for denial of landing in Article 5 of the Act.
If you meet all four conditions, the immigration inspector must permit landing. Conditions other than those set out in the law cannot be added. The fourth condition is where the questions on the disembarkation card come in.
What Article 5 covers
Article 5, paragraph 1 lists the types of foreign nationals who “may not land in Japan”. They fall into a few broad groups. The main ones are:
| Group | Examples (item of Article 5, paragraph 1) |
|---|---|
| Public health | People with certain infectious diseases designated under Japan’s Infectious Diseases Act (item 1) |
| Public burden | People likely to become a burden on the national or local government because of poverty or similar reasons (item 3) |
| Criminal record | People sentenced to imprisonment of 1 year or more under the laws of Japan or any other country, except for political offences (item 4); people punished under drug laws of any country (item 5); people who have engaged in prostitution-related business (item 7) |
| Prohibited items | People illegally carrying drugs (item 6), or guns, swords or explosives (item 8) |
| Past deportation | People deported from Japan, or who left Japan under a departure order, until a set period has passed (item 9) |
| Interests and public security of Japan | People involved in terrorism or in attempts to overthrow the government by violence, and, as a catch-all, people whom the Minister of Justice has reasonable grounds to believe are likely to act against the interests or public security of Japan (item 14 and others) |
In practice, a suspended sentence also counts as a “sentence” under items 4 and 5, even after the suspension period has ended.
How long you are denied after deportation
| Situation | Period of denial |
|---|---|
| Left Japan under a departure order | 1 year from departure |
| Deported for the first time | 5 years from deportation |
| Deported after a previous deportation or departure order | 10 years from deportation |
| Sentenced to imprisonment of 1 year or more, or punished for a drug offence (items 4 and 5) | No time limit |
The card questions follow these grounds
The three existing questions on the disembarkation card each match grounds in Article 5:
- Question 1 (deportation, departure order, refusal of entry) → past deportation (item 9)
- Question 2 (criminal conviction) → criminal record (items 4 and 5)
- Question 3 (drugs, guns, swords, explosives) → prohibited items (items 6 and 8)
If you live in Japan and travel abroad
When you return with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit, your status of residence continues, so the inspector checks only two of the four conditions: a valid passport, and the grounds for denial in Article 5. This means that if you have come to fall under one of the grounds while living in Japan, for example because you received a sentence of imprisonment of 1 year or more (even if suspended), you may be refused landing when you come back.
Special Permanent Residents returning with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit are not examined for the grounds in Article 5.
Exceptions
Falling under a ground for denial does not always mean you can never come to Japan. The Minister of Justice may grant special permission to land (Article 12), or decide not to deny landing on certain grounds where it is appropriate (Article 5-2), for example for a person married to a Japanese national. The ISA publishes examples of cases where special permission to land was and was not granted (see Sources).
4. What happens if you answer “No”?
The draft does not say how a “No” answer will be handled. It only states that the ISA will check each person’s intent to comply with Japanese laws and then decide whether to permit landing.
This amendment changes forms in a ministry ordinance. It does not change the Act, so the four conditions for landing and the grounds in Article 5 stay the same. How a “No” answer would be assessed under them has not been explained. If the ISA publishes more details, we will add them here.
Remember that you sign the card to confirm that what you have written is true. Answer every question honestly and carefully.
5. What this means for you
- Visitors and new arrivals (including people entering with a COE): from the date the change takes effect, expect one more question on the disembarkation card. The rest of the landing procedure does not change under the draft.
- Foreign residents of Japan: if you travel abroad and return with a re-entry permit or a special re-entry permit, the re-entry card would also include the question. On return, you are examined for the grounds for denial in Article 5, so check before you travel if any of them may apply to you.
- Everyone: read each question on the card carefully, especially if the order of the “Yes” and “No” boxes differs between questions.
For questions about your own situation, see our Written Answer.
Sources
- e-Gov Public Comment, “Public comment on the draft ministerial ordinance partially amending the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (No. 315000150, including the call for comments, the draft ordinance and the ISA’s summary of the amendment; Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency, “Disembarkation Card for Foreigner (ED card)” (Japanese)
- e-Gov Laws and Regulations, “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (Articles 5, 5-2, 7 and 12; Japanese)
- Immigration Services Agency, “Cases where special permission to land was granted and cases where it was not” (July 2026, Japanese, PDF)
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice on any individual case. The information is based on sources available as of October 30, 2026. The amendment described here is a draft; its content and dates may change after the public comment period. Laws, guidelines and their application may change without notice. TKG Immigration Consulting Office accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of this information. In case of any difference between our English descriptions and the original Japanese texts, the Japanese texts prevail.