July 18, 2025

In the House of Councilors election campaign, the “Sanseito” party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the “Ishin” party are pledging to tighten restrictions on foreigners as xenophobic claims such as “most welfare recipients are foreigners” are being circulated. However, government data prove that such a claim is not true.

According to the Health and Welfare Ministry data, as of the end of April 2025, the number of households relying on public livelihood assistance totaled 1,643,444. Of them, 47,206 or about 2.9% were foreign families. For the past 15 years, the percentage of foreign families receiving welfare assistance has remained at almost the same level (between 2.9% and 3.0%).

The antiforeign forces also made the false claim that foreign nationals are given preferential treatment in obtaining welfare.

The Public Assistance Act stipulates that citizens in need who are “Japanese nationals” are eligible for public livelihood assistance.

The provision of welfare benefits to non-Japanese citizens is based on a Welfare Ministry’s notice. However, under the notice, eligibility to receive welfare assistance is limited to foreign residents with no restriction on their activities in Japan, such as permanent residents and long-term residents. Those who are in Japan on visas like student visas and technical intern visas, are not eligible for welfare assistance benefits even if they are struggling financially.