Japan will renew its push to reduce the number of foreign nationals unlawfully staying in the country to zero, adding stronger crackdown measures and cyber patrols, the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) revealed Friday.

The updated measures come approximately one year after the introduction of a government initiative aimed at reducing overstayers, known as the “Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of People in Japan,” more commonly referred to as “Zero Plan.”

After Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi in November to promote the initiative, the ministry reviewed priority measures and the ISA, which is part of the ministry, announced the revised version of the plan.

The renewed package keeps the broad pillars of the original initiative that was outlined last year, including the early introduction of Japan’s electronic travel authorization system (officially abbreviated as JESTA), faster refugee screenings, immigration procedures being digitized, voluntary returns and state-funded deportations accompanied by escort officers.

The version announced Friday sets out more specific steps, however, with a new detailed section on strengthening crackdowns. The ISA says it plans to reinforce its enforcement structure, strengthen joint crackdowns with other authorities and crackdowns conducted solely by immigration officials, implement stronger cyber patrols and consider measures to encourage information provision and reporting.

The cyber patrols would build on the ISA’s existing use of social media as leads for raids. Officials said the agency is considering introducing tools to better search through social media and other platforms to confirm foreign-language posts involving forged residence cards, for example, and other suspected violations. The agency said that they plan on setting up a dedicated unit for this purpose.

The package was presented to reporters alongside the agency’s annual countermeasures package to prevent the unlawful employment of foreign nationals.

This year’s unlawful employment package targets employers and brokers more strictly than previous years, with fines for those enabling the illegal employment of foreign nationals to go up. Employers and brokers who cause foreign nationals to work illegally or arrange such work currently face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to ¥3 million (about $19,000). But from April 1, 2027, the penalty will be toughened to up to five years in prison or a fine of up to ¥5 million.

The tightening of measures comes as the number of known unlawful overstayers fell to 68,488 as of Jan. 1, down from about 74,863 a year earlier, while 13,435 foreign nationals — 72.9% of those subject to deportation procedures and other measures in 2025 — were found to have worked illegally.