Are Japanese 'Breeding Visas' Fake? Explaining The Origin Of The Viral Hoax

There's a viral rumor going around that Japan has introduced "breeding visas" to combat the country's declining birth rate, inviting healthy educated foreigners willing to father a child in the country.

However, the rumor is only a hoax that stems from a 2018 joke article. Learn where it comes from and how people have been reacting to it in this brief explainer.

What Are Japanese 'Breeding Visas'?

Japanese "breeding visas" is a viral rumor according to which Japan, a country known for its low birth rates, has introduced a new type of visa for foreign citizens.

The rumor has it that the applicants have to be at least 21 years old, must be in good physical and mental health and have scored at least chunin level on the official Naruto certification exam.

Those who fail to provide evidence of at least one successful pregnancy will have to pay a fine of 50,000 yen upon departure.

A snippet of a news article about the "breeding visas" has been spread around on social media, and apparently, not everyone bothered to check the veracity of it until jumping straight into the discourse.

Where Does The 'Breeding Visas' Hoax Come From?

The joke report comes from an April Fools' Day article published on the Japanese culture news website SoraNews24 in 2018.

The article explains that Japan's rapidly aging population and declining birth rate have nudged the government to introduce a new type of visa for foreigners willing to "help" with the problem. The article even mentions some criticism of the initiative, with people being allegedly unhappy that "breeding visas" are not exclusive to males as women who get pregnant can leave the country and raise their children elsewhere.

From SoraNews24, a snippet of the article was reposted on Reddit and journeyed all across the internet in the following years before going viral in June 2024 when the source and context of the headline had been well forgotten.

What Are People Saying About Japanese "Breeding Visas"?

As often happens, some people took the bait and got hyped about the opportunity of going to Japan to increase the local population the old-fashioned way. Some of those who shared the snippet wondered if we could be living in a simulation, while others joked that their followers might be interested in the program.

There have been memes about the "breeding visas" too. The earliest we could find is back in 2018 when the joke article was first published. Most of them are people expressing just how determined and ready they are to tackle the Japanese population crisis.

For the full history of Japanese "Breeding Visas" Hoax, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.