Photo/Illutration Service counters of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Tokyo’s Minato Ward are packed with applicants seeking visa extensions on March 30. (Rei Kishitsu)

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau has been inundated with requests for visa extensions due mainly to flight cancellations that have stranded many foreign visitors to Japan while the new coronavirus epidemic rages.

The bureau handles foreign residents’ immigration procedures and oversees the Kanto region as well as Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata prefectures. Its counters are always crowded around this time of year because the new fiscal year starts on April 1 in Japan.

But this year, many foreign nationals staying in Japan on short-term visas are unable to return to their home countries within the duration of their visas as airlines have slashed the number of flights due to the spread of the virus.

Out of necessity, those visa holders are packing bureau service counters to seek visa extensions and stay legal.

Immigration authorities are taking steps to reduce congestion at the counters and the number of people awaiting their turn.

The Immigration Services Agency announced that it will extend the period it accepts applications for visa extensions.

Its office in Tokyo has started issuing numbered tickets and installed separate counters to provide services exclusively for administrative scriveners who submit the applications on behalf of their clients.

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