According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased since 1949.
In December 2025, there were more than 4.12 million foreign residents, accounting for approximately 3.35% of Japan's estimated population of 123.2 million.
History
Due to geographic remoteness and periods of self-imposed isolation, the immigration, cultural assimilation and integration of foreign nationals into mainstream Japanese society has been comparatively limited.
After 1945, unlike the guest worker immigration encouraged in other advanced industrial economies such as Germany, Japan was able to rely on internal pools of rural labor to satisfy the manpower needs of industry. In the late 1980s, the demands of small business owners and demographic shifts gave rise for a limited period to a wave of tacitly accepted illegal immigration from countries as diverse as the Philippines and Iran.
Production offshoring in the 1980s also enabled Japanese firms in some labor-intensive industries such as electronic goods manufacture and vehicle assembly to reduce their dependence on imported labor. In 1990, new government legislation provided South Americans of Japanese ancestry such as Japanese Brazilians and Japanese Peruvians with preferential working visa immigration status.
By 1998, there were 222,217 Brazilian nationals registered as residents in Japan, with a smaller number from Peru. In 2009, with economic conditions less favorable, this trend was reversed, with the Japanese government introducing a program to incentivize Brazilian and Peruvian immigrants to return home, with a stipend of $3,000 for an airfare and $2,000 for each dependent.
In late 2015, with an increasingly elderly Japanese population and lack of manpower in key sectors such as construction, IT services and health care, Japanese politicians were again debating the need to expand temporary foreign labor pools, through the use of short-term trainee programs. The years 2022–23 have seen rising immigration after policy changes in reaction to labour shortages, particularly in retail and hospitality industries.
Economy In a 2023 study by the independent think tank Recruit Works Institute, Japan may face a labor shortage of more than 11 million workers by 2040 due to its rapidly aging population and declining working-age population. The report projects that the worker supply will shrink by about 12% from 2022 levels by 2040, even as labor demand remains steady. To achieve the government’s target economic growth rate of 1.24% per year, Japan would need approximately 6.74 million foreign workers by 2040, nearly four times the number it had in 2020.
Current immigration statistics
Resident foreign nationals in Japan that are counted in immigration statistics of permanent residents and mid-long-term residents (granted resident visas for 12 months or more), include individuals and their registered dependents with:
Special permanent resident status Permanent Resident status Status of Residence based on Status or Position (Descendants of Japanese nationals) Individuals living in the country as registered spouses of Japanese nationals Individuals granted limited duration employment visas Individuals granted limited duration student or academic research visas Individuals on limited duration Technical Intern Training Program visas Registered refugee and asylum seekers
From 2013 published government reports, the proportion of foreign residents granted permanent resident status in Japan exceeded 30%. If foreign residents granted permanent resident status, spouses of Japanese nationals, fixed domicile residents (those of Japanese ancestry) and ethnic Koreans with residence in Japan are included, the number of resident foreigners granted permanent residence effectively exceeds 60%.
Japan receives a low number of immigrants compared to other G7 countries. This is consistent with Gallup data, which shows that Japan is an exceptionally unpopular migrant destination to potential migrants, with the number of potential migrants wishing to migrate to Japan 12 times less than those who wished to migrate to the US, and 3 times less than those who wished to migrate to Canada. This roughly corresponds to the actual relative differences in migrant inflows between the three countries.
Some Japanese scholars have pointed out that Japanese immigration laws, at least toward high-skilled migrants, are relatively lenient compared to other developed countries, and that the main factor behind its low migrant inflows is because it is a highly unattractive migrant destination compared to other developed countries. This is also apparent when looking at Japan's work visa programme for "specified skilled worker", which had less than 3,000 applicants, despite an annual goal of attracting 40,000 overseas workers.
By nationality
Foreign populations in Japan with over 10,000 residents, as of 31 December 2025: RegionCountryResidentsSee alsoEast AsiaIncluding +14,000 Hongkongers930,428Chinese people in JapanSoutheast Asia681,100Vietnamese people in JapanEast Asia407,341Koreans in JapanSoutheast Asia356,579Filipinos in JapanSouth Asia300,992Nepalis in JapanSoutheast Asia266,069Indonesians in JapanSouth America210,014Brazilians in JapanSoutheast Asia182,567Burmese people in JapanSouth Asia79,128Sri Lankans in JapanEast Asia73,256North America69,787Americans in JapanSoutheast Asia67,097Thais in JapanSouth Asia58,999Indians in JapanSouth America49,020Peruvians in JapanSouth Asia44,938Bangladeshis in JapanSouth Asia34,911Pakistanis in JapanSoutheast Asia28,957Cambodians in JapanEurope22,428Britons in JapanEast AsiaKorea22,201Chōsen-sekiEast Asia21,359Mongolians in JapanEurope17,088French people in JapanOceania13,776Australians in JapanNorth America13,034Canadians in JapanSoutheast Asia12,266Europe and Asia12,187Russians in Japan
Immigration to Japan by resident status Special Permanent Resident
The published statistics on foreign nationals resident in Japan includes zainichi Koreans, with tokubetsu eijusha Special permanent resident status at 277,664.
Permanent Resident Foreign nationals already long-term residents in Japan under another visa category such as a working visa or as the spouse of a Japanese national are eligible to apply for permanent residence status. The granting of permanent residence status is at the discretion of the Immigration Bureau and dependent on satisfaction of a number of detailed criteria such as length of stay, ability to make an independent living, record of tax payments and documented contributions to Japan in terms of public service or professional activities. According to the Migrant Integration Policy Index, permanent residency laws were less stringent than those in the United States and the United Kingdom.
In September, the government announced stricter requirements for permanent residency, including higher fees, income requirements, Japanese-language proficiency, and pension-related requirements. The changes were part of broader immigration reforms under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Immigration through marriage International marriage migration used to represent as much as 25% of permanent migration flows to Japan, but this trend has been in decline since a peak in 2006. In the 1980s increasing numbers of Japanese men were registering marriages in Japan to women from China, Korea and the Philippines.
In 2006, 44,701 marriages, or 6.11% of all marriages registered in Japan were to a foreign national. In 2013, this number had fallen to 21,488 marriages, or 3.25% of all marriages registered in Japan. Of the 21,488 international marriages registered in Japan in 2013, 15,442 or 71.77% were marriages involving a foreign bride, compared to 6,046 or 28.23% where the groom was non-Japanese.
Japan registered marriage statistics alone may not present a comprehensive picture of the numbers of international marriages in Japan, as marriages registered overseas may also contribute to total immigrant spouse numbers. Once married, foreign spouses may also, if certain criteria are satisfied, change their visa status to Permanent Resident or other visa categories. 2012 Ministry of Justice data indicates that of all foreigners in Japan, 7.5% are resident in Japan under a visa designation as a spouse of a Japanese national.
Long term residents on limited duration employment In June 2024, there were 3,588,956 foreigners residing in Japan. Of this number, 1,181,203 were considered long-term, but non-permanent residents: those granted visas for a duration of 12 months or more. The majority of long-term residents in Japan on limited duration work or study visas were from Asia. Chinese made up the largest portion of this group with 844,187, followed by Vietnamese with 600,348, and Koreans with 411,043. Filipino, Nepalese, Indonesian and Taiwanese long-term residents totaled 47,956. Those from other Asian countries totaled 554,246.
In 2022, Technical Intern Training Program visas account for nearly 327,689 of the number. Vietnamese made up the largest group with 160,563, followed by Chinese with 37,4891, and Indonesians with 34,459.
Student visas According to the Japan Student Services Organization (JSSO), as of 2023, 279,274 international students are residing in Japan. Chinese made up the largest portion of this group with 115,493, followed by Nepalis with 37,878, and Vietnamese with 36,339.
Refugees and asylum seekers Japan is a signatory to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Japan therefore has made a commitment to offer protection to people who seek asylum and fall into the legal definition of a refugee, and not to return any displaced person to places where they would otherwise face persecution.
Japan has historically been one of the world's most generous donors to refugee relief and resettlement programs overseas. In 2014, Japan was the world's 2nd largest financial contributor to UNHCR programs. Japanese diplomat Sadako Ogata served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1991 to 2000.
In December 2015, Japan had 13,831 asylum applications under review. In 2016, more than 10,000 applications for refugee status in Japan were received and in the same year 28 asylum applications were approved. In 2015, more than 7,500 people applied for refugee status and 27 asylum applications were approved. In 2014, more than 5,000 applications were made and 11 applications were approved.
Recent low approval rates for asylum applications follow historic trends. From 1982 to 2004, 330 applications for asylum were approved, an average of 15 per year.
+ Total numbers of asylum applications in Japan2010–2025YearNo. receivedNo. approved 2010 1,202 39 2011 1,867 21 2012 2,545 18 2013 3,260 6 2014 5,000 11 2015 7,586 27 2016 10,901 28 2017 19,629 20 2018 10,493 42 2019 10,375 44 2020 3,936 47 2021 2,413 74 2022 3,772 202 2023 13,823 303 2024 12,373 190 2025 11,298 187
Whereas in Germany and Canada around 40% of asylum applications are approved, in Japan the number averages 0.2 percent. On occasion, where Japan has stopped short of granting official refugee status, a limited number of applicants have been granted permission to stay on humanitarian grounds. In 2016, 97 refugee applicants were granted permission to stay on this basis. Decisions on refugee status in Japan are often slow, and confirmations of deportation orders are not widely published. Resubmission of asylum claims by previously unsuccessful applicants often occurs.
Closure of asylum application legal loophole