Building a professional life from scratch in a foreign country requires years of effort, adaptation, and mastering an extremely complex language. For the renowned seiyuu and singer of Russian origin Jenya, the recent decision by the Japanese government to drastically increase the costs of residency paperwork represents an emotional and financial blow for the foreign workers who have made this country their home.

Following the announcement of the new regulation set to take effect on October 1, 2026, where the permanent residency application fee will jump from 10,000 yen to the staggering 200,000 yen, the actress decided to share her thoughts on the situation. Jenya noted that the measure imposes an excessive burden on people who have worked honorably for years, paid taxes, contributed to social security, and raised families in Japan. However, what saddened her most wasn’t just the price hike, but the constant online comments demanding she “return to her country” if she’s unhappy, making her feel that decades of effort are devalued simply because she was born abroad.

Far from being intimidated or packing her bags, Jenya made it clear she has no intention of leaving Japan to return to Russia. Although she maintains family ties in her homeland, her entire current life—including her husband, friends, home, and professional connections—are established in Japan. The artist emphasized that she needed two decades of dedication to master Japanese professionally and build her career in the anime industry, so she plans to apply for permanent residency or seek naturalization as a citizen, despite knowing that social perceptions of foreigners will never fully disappear.

Born in Russia and living in Japan since 2005, Jenya is a versatile artist who carved out a path as a voice actress, singer, and Russian language consultant for numerous Japanese animation projects. Among her most notable roles as a seiyuu is voicing Zoya in the popular series Akiba Maid War, in addition to actively contributing to the linguistic and musical supervision of high-profile anime productions.

Given all the effort Jenya took to build her voice acting career in Japan over twenty years, do you think it’s unfair for comments to demand she return to her country of origin after criticizing the new visa fees?