Number of Foreigners in Japan

Statistics on the number of international residents in Japan

The number of international residents in Japan has significantly increased in the last few decades. Following are statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Justice on the number of foreign residents in Japan as of the end of 2017. These statistics exclude tourists, short-term visitors and people staying in Japan illegally. In 2018, the number of international residents was at an all-time high of 2.5 million, which equals 1.95 percent of Japan’s total population.

　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　

Country/Region	TOTAL	Male	Female
Total	2,561,848	1,233,823	1,328,025
Asia	2,130,131	981,501	1,148,630
Afghanistan	2,978	2,022	956
UAE	75	62	13
Myanmar	22,519	10,626	11,893
Bahrain	27	12	15
Bhutan	628	324	304
Bangladesh	14,143	9,617	4,526
Brunei	47	21	26
Cambodia	10,718	4,910	5,808
Sri Lanka	23,349	17,233	6,116
China	730,890	322,842	408,048
Taiwan	56,724	18,051	38,673
Cyprus	39	26	13
Timor-Leste	31	23	8
India	31,689	21,870	9,819
Indonesia	49,982	33,843	16,139
Iran	4,037	3,281	756
Iraq	129	94	35
Israel	569	376	193
Jordan	162	135	27
South Korea	450,662	205,671	244,991
North Korea	30,860	16,846	14,014
Kuwait	37	23	14
Laos	2,745	1,463	1,282
Lebanon	123	89	34
Malaysia	9,638	4,906	4,732
Mongol	9,144	4,233	4,911
Maldives	48	42	6
Oman	28	13	15
Nepal	80,038	49,276	30,762
Pakistan	15,069	11,036	4,033
Philippines	260,553	74,735	185,818
Qatar	25	17	8
Saudi Arabia	736	528	208
Syria	631	432	199
Singapore	2,817	1,088	1,729
Thailand	50,179	14,037	36,142
Turkey	5,503	4,221	1,282
Vietnam	262,404	147,375	115,029
Yemen	85	52	33
Palestine	70	48	22
Europe	75,704	46,494	29,210
Albania	82	56	26
Austria	624	388	236
Belgium	862	623	239
Bulgaria	445	237	208
Belarus	321	93	228
Croatia	155	90	65
Czech	396	245	151
Denmark	695	484	211
Estonia	154	88	66
Finland	760	410	350
France	12,503	8,771	3,732
Germany	7,132	4,523	2,609
Greece	302	216	86
Hungary	644	341	303
Iceland	57	35	22
Ireland	1,142	905	237
Italy	4,147	2,820	1,327
Kyrgyzstan	447	226	221
Kazakhstan	359	137	222
Liechtenstein	8	4	4
Luxemburg	46	25	21
Latvia	127	64	63
Lithuania	289	134	155
Malta	19	17	2
Moldova	161	29	132
Macedonia	39	27	12
Netherland	1,351	969	382
Norway	445	257	188
Poland	1,434	676	758
Portugal	591	359	232
Rumania	2,336	467	1,869
Russia	8,673	2,726	5,947
San Marino	3	1	2
Spain	3,037	2,049	988
Sweden	1,736	1,223	513
Switzerland	1,139	784	355
Turkmenistan	42	24	18
Tajikistan	157	99	58
United Kingdom	17,200	12,756	4,444
Ukraine	1,831	428	1,403
Uzbekistan	2,921	2,244	677
Armenia	48	16	32
Azerbaijan	104	55	49
Andorra	4	2	2
Georgia	54	26	28
Slovenia	114	62	52
Slovakia	285	125	160
Bosnia-Herzegovina	37	19	18
Serbia and Montenegro	4	1	3
Montenegro	11	9	2
Serbia	222	120	102
Kosovo	9	8	1
Africa	15,939	11,837	4,102
Algeria	225	151	74
Burundi	21	14	7
Botswana	43	17	26
Cameroon	627	457	170
Central Africa	15	11	4
Chad	4	4	-
Republic of Congo	20	16	4
Democratic Republic of Congo	429	327	102
Cabo Verde	6	4	2
Comoros	3	3	-
Benin	88	72	16
Djibouti	14	7	7
Ethiopia	444	286	158
Equatorial Guinea	5	3	2
Eritrea	46	29	17
Gabon	23	17	6
Ghana	2,287	1,872	415
Guinea	404	314	90
Gambia	71	59	12
Guinea-Bissau	9	8	1
Cote d’Ivoire	141	104	37
Kenya	778	485	293
Liberia	31	24	7
Libya	67	47	20
Lesotho	13	4	9
Madagascar	117	60	57
Mali	179	141	38
Mauritania	19	17	2
Morocco	555	402	153
Malawi	108	78	30
Mauritius	84	64	20
Mozambique	148	118	30
Niger	24	21	3
Nigeria	2,911	2,534	377
Namibia	13	8	5
Rwanda	110	83	27
Senegal	673	574	99
Sierra Leone	53	45	8
Somalia	15	9	6
Sudan	230	147	83
Swaziland	7	4	3
Sao Tome and Principe	4	4	-
Seychelles	7	3	4
Tanzania	447	300	147
Togo	39	35	4
Tunisia	565	418	147
Uganda	609	460	149
South Africa	873	491	382
Egypt	1,850	1,161	689
Burkina Faso	94	78	16
Zambia	134	81	53
Zimbabwe	177	108	69
Angora	39	26	13
South Sudan Republic	41	32	9
North America	71,053	47,031	24,022
Barbados	32	14	18
Bahama	19	10	9
Belize	9	8	1
Canada	10,282	7,224	3,058
Costa Rica	169	77	92
Cuba	249	177	72
Dominica Republic	519	340	179
Dominica	10	8	2
El Salvador	131	60	71
Guatemala	137	82	55
Haiti	36	26	10
Honduras	167	80	87
Jamaica	730	276	454
Mexico	2,566	1,552	1,014
Nicaragua	86	45	41
Panama	54	29	25
Saint Lucia	5	3	2
Saint Vincent	5	3	2
Saint Christopher and Nevis	6	4	2
Trinidad and Tobago	118	48	70
U.S.A.	55,713	36,958	18,755
Grenada	3	3	-
Antigua and Barbuda	7	4	3
South America	253,663	136,490	117,173
Argentina	2,728	1,510	1,218
Bolivia	5,751	3,061	2,690
Brazil	191,362	104,109	87,253
Chile	691	368	323
Columbia	2,384	897	1,487
Ecuador	224	115	109
Guyana	13	3	10
Paraguay	2,040	1,069	971
Peru	47,972	25,056	22,916
Suriname	5	2	3
Uruguay	102	57	45
Venezuela	391	243	148
Oceania	14,725	10,135	4,590
Australia	10,671	7,282	3,389
Fiji	257	190	67
Kiribati	19	8	11
Marshall	14	8	6
Micronesia	53	30	23
New Zealand	3,353	2,398	955
Nauru	2	2	-
Papua New Guinea	59	34	25
Palau	36	23	13
Solomon	43	27	16
Tonga	134	89	45
Tuvalu	3	2	1
Vanuatu	11	8	3
Samoa	70	34	36
No Nationality	633	335	298

• The total number of international residents in Japan was 2,561,848 as of December 2017. This accounted for 1.95 percent of Japan’s total population.
• Tokyo has the largest population of international residents, accounting for 3.82 percent of Tokyo’s total population. Aichi Prefecture has the second largest population of international residents, accounting for 3.12 percent. The third largest population is in Gunma Prefecture.
• While the number of people from the USA has not increased or decreased since 1991, the number of people from China has doubled since 1999. Also, the number of people from Vietnam has doubled since 2012 while the number of people from Brazil has decreased by 50 percent since 2011.
• The ward with the largest population of international residents in Tokyo is Shinjuku Ward, which has approximately 42,000. Edogawa Ward is second, with approximately 33,000. International residents in Shinjuku Ward account for 10 percent of the ward’s population.
• While people over 60 years of age account for 25 percent of Tokyo’s population, and people in their 20s account for 12 percent, 28 percent of international residents are in their 20s.　It is said that foreign residents are rejuvenating Japan’s aging society.