Thanks for the article. With Japanese PR, I know you can leave and reenter on a special reentry visa. Are reentry visas easy to get? Would repeatedly getting (by doing a reentry visa-run to japan every 5 years) them while spending most of your time outside of japan result in losing your PR?
You used to have to apply for a re-entry visa. Technically Japan distinguishes between "entry permission" and "status of residence", which few countries do and, given it's an island, doesn't really make any sense, but that's the reason for the policy. With the change to the Residence Card system in 2012 normal travel no longer requires applying for re-entry visas. Here's a notice from when it changed:
To add to what bojo said, when you apply for it at the airport these days you basically just fill out a tiny piece of paper and they say "OK, see you when you get back" if you're going away for less than a year. I don't go overseas much but if memory serves the process is basically the same for PR and non-PR visas.
I don't really know much about the implications of only coming back once every five years or so.
These days you can get your reentry permit directly at the airport, and in the case of a PR you can stay outside the country for up to a year. Much better than the “buy an expensive stamp” system they had prior. I moved back to the US at the end of 2018 and haven’t gone back, so I assume my PR expired. That said, if I ever went back I could likely re-obtain it due to my spouse being Japanese.
I’m not aware of anyone trying to game keeping their PR, but I do know that if you need to repeatedly stay out of the country for awhile you need to provide a solid reason (like caring for a sick parent).
If you don't have the intention to live in Japan permanently then you're supposed to give up PR. When you apply for a longer re-entry permit they ask about reasons for being abroad. I think the immigration officer would take a film view on many "visa runs" with no job, house or family in Japan.
