Aurora Mizutani, born Dupelola Osaretin Ajala, known as Dupelola Ajala, daughter of Olabisi Ajala.

Expats in Japan Japan is openly trying to attract foreign workers to plug serious labor gaps, but that "welcome" can feel conditional when the gatekeepers act like foreigners are a nuisance to be managed. That contradiction is why a circulating video, described online as filmed at the Naha (Okinawa) immigration office reception area, has struck a nerve: it allegedly portrays an interaction where a foreign long-term resident says they are being blocked or stonewalled while trying to file a status-related application. The footage is hard to independently verify from the outside, and the individuals involved are not clearly identifiable, but the reason it matters is simple. If your immigration system has wide discretion and low transparency, even one credible-looking incident becomes a warning flare. The case described follows a pattern many foreign residents recognize: someone married to a Japanese citizen, resident for years, tax-paying, no criminal history, yet still treated...

The Honeymoon Ends, the Paperwork Begins Japan is easy to admire from the outside, but living there reveals a quieter reality shaped by paperwork, deadlines, and unspoken rules. Expats in Japan: Tourists, Contracts, and the Long Game is a plain-language, journalistic guide to what actually separates expats who stay from those who leave. The book moves past cherry blossoms and convenience-store clichés to show how small pressures stack up over time: money that works until it doesn't, contracts that end on schedule, social norms that are never explained, and systems that reward preparation over confidence. Staying is not framed as personality or devotion. It is about buffers, anchors, and options: time, savings, information, and people who can help you navigate complexity before your life narrows into one fragile lane. Running through the book is a sharp look at how Japan informally sorts foreigners into social boxes. Tourists are welcomed because they leave. Expats are tolerated b...