From April 1, the 入国管理局 (nyūkoku kanri-kyoku, Immigration Bureau), which operated under the auspices of the 法務省 (hōmushō, Justice Ministry), was upgraded from a bureau to an agency. Its Japanese name changed to 出入国在留管理庁 (shutsunyūkoku zairyū kanri-chō), which can be interpreted as the agency for control of exit, entry and residence. Its official English name, however, is Immigration Services Agency.
Considering the gravity of this new development for the foreign community, I was somewhat disappointed to see that the English section of the Immigration Bureau's website does not appear to have been updated since last year.
The new name nonetheless moved me to consider the characters for "entry" (or "arrival") and "exit" (or "departure"), along with the various ways they are put to use.
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