Foreign residents in Japan — the official numbers
Who actually lives in Japan, on which visas, and where — transcribed from the Immigration Services Agencys end-2025 release and JASSOs 2025 student survey.
Foreign residents at end-2025 — a record, and past 4 million for the first time (+9.5%)
By nationality — top 10
| People | Change (1 yr) | |
|---|---|---|
| China | 930,428 | +57,142 |
| Vietnam | 681,100 | +46,739 |
| South Korea | 407,341 | −1,897 |
| Philippines | 356,579 | +15,061 |
| Nepal | 300,992 | +67,949 |
| Indonesia | 266,069 | +66,245 |
| Brazil | 210,014 | −1,893 |
| Myanmar | 182,567 | +47,993 |
| Sri Lanka | 79,128 | +15,656 |
| Taiwan | 73,256 | +3,109 |
By status of residence — top 5
| People | Change (1 yr) | |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent Resident | 947,125 | +29,009 |
| Engineer / Humanities / Int’l Services | 475,790 | +57,084 |
| Student | 464,784 | +62,650 |
| Technical Intern Training | 456,618 | +23 |
| Specified Skilled Worker | 390,296 | +105,830 |
Where they live — top 5 prefectures
| # | People | Change (1 yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo 東京都 | 801,438 | +62,492 |
| 2 | Osaka 大阪府 | 375,319 | +41,755 |
| 3 | Aichi 愛知県 | 357,800 | +26,067 |
| 4 | Kanagawa 神奈川県 | 317,353 | +24,903 |
| 5 | Saitama 埼玉県 | 290,937 | +28,555 |
| 6 | Chiba 千葉県 | 259,663 | +28,049 |
| 7 | Hyogo 兵庫県 | 155,019 | +12,343 |
| 8 | Shizuoka 静岡県 | 132,100 | +7,819 |
| 9 | Fukuoka 福岡県 | 125,501 | +12,342 |
| 10 | Ibaraki 茨城県 | 111,808 | +9,259 |
| 11 | Kyoto 京都府 | 92,563 | +8,649 |
| 12 | Gunma 群馬県 | 89,670 | +6,240 |
| 13 | Gifu 岐阜県 | 80,766 | +6,016 |
| 14 | Hokkaido 北海道 | 77,401 | +9,917 |
| 15 | Mie 三重県 | 73,551 | +4,747 |
| 16 | Hiroshima 広島県 | 72,628 | +4,791 |
| 17 | Tochigi 栃木県 | 61,878 | +4,895 |
| 18 | Nagano 長野県 | 50,655 | +3,805 |
| 19 | Shiga 滋賀県 | 46,180 | +3,220 |
| 20 | Okayama 岡山県 | 41,840 | +2,954 |
| 21 | Okinawa 沖縄県 | 33,402 | +4,018 |
| 22 | Miyagi 宮城県 | 32,903 | +3,025 |
| 23 | Kumamoto 熊本県 | 32,372 | +2,987 |
| 24 | Niigata 新潟県 | 26,724 | +2,441 |
| 25 | Toyama 富山県 | 26,296 | +1,982 |
| 26 | Yamanashi 山梨県 | 25,313 | +1,622 |
| 27 | Ishikawa 石川県 | 23,498 | +2,347 |
| 28 | Oita 大分県 | 23,027 | +2,697 |
| 29 | Yamaguchi 山口県 | 22,539 | +958 |
| 30 | Kagawa 香川県 | 21,791 | +2,184 |
| 31 | Nara 奈良県 | 21,623 | +2,366 |
| 32 | Fukushima 福島県 | 21,598 | +1,576 |
| 33 | Fukui 福井県 | 21,509 | +1,611 |
| 34 | Kagoshima 鹿児島県 | 21,480 | +2,508 |
| 35 | Ehime 愛媛県 | 20,282 | +1,595 |
| 36 | Nagasaki 長崎県 | 17,477 | +1,785 |
| 37 | Miyazaki 宮崎県 | 12,981 | +1,470 |
| 38 | Saga 佐賀県 | 12,841 | +1,483 |
| 39 | Iwate 岩手県 | 12,526 | +1,160 |
| 40 | Shimane 島根県 | 11,940 | +851 |
| 41 | Wakayama 和歌山県 | 11,529 | +1,385 |
| 42 | Yamagata 山形県 | 11,111 | +576 |
| 43 | Tokushima 徳島県 | 9,717 | +810 |
| 44 | Aomori 青森県 | 9,419 | +816 |
| 45 | Kochi 高知県 | 7,355 | +507 |
| 46 | Tottori 鳥取県 | 6,511 | +443 |
| 47 | Akita 秋田県 | 6,333 | +482 |
As of 2025-12-31 · 出入国在留管理庁 ↗
Where your community is
Absolute numbers favour Tokyo. But whether you find your own language on the street depends on concentration, not size — these are the prefectures where each community is largest.
| Prefecture | Largest communities | Rank nationally |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo東京都 | China 38.1% · South Korea 11.6% · Nepal 7.9% | — |
| Osaka大阪府 | China 26.1% · South Korea 22.9% · Vietnam 18.8% | — |
| Nagoya愛知県 | Vietnam 19.8% · Brazil 16.9% · Philippines 13.6% | — |
| Yokohama神奈川県 | China 27.3% · Vietnam 14% · Philippines 8.9% | — |
| Saitama埼玉県 | China 30.8% · Vietnam 18.2% · Philippines 8.9% | — |
| Chiba千葉県 | China 25% · Vietnam 16.1% · Nepal 10.1% | — |
| Kobe兵庫県 | Vietnam 22.2% · South Korea 21.8% · China 16.6% | — |
| Hamamatsu静岡県 | Brazil 23.8% · Vietnam 16.4% · Philippines 16.3% | — |
| Fukuoka福岡県 | Vietnam 18.9% · China 18.6% · Nepal 17.6% | — |
| Tsukuba茨城県 | Vietnam 19.1% · China 12% · Indonesia 11.6% | — |
| Kyoto京都府 | China 23% · South Korea 21.8% · Vietnam 12.9% | — |
| Takasaki群馬県 | Vietnam 18.8% · Brazil 15.6% · Philippines 10.9% | — |
As of 2025-12-31 · e-Stat / 出入国在留管理庁 ↗
International students — 408,069 (+21.2% in one year)
The student boom is not driven by universities: language schools grew 23.5% and vocational colleges 28.5% in a single year.
| People | Change (1 yr) | |
|---|---|---|
| China | 131,097 | +7,612 |
| Nepal | 100,239 | +35,423 |
| Vietnam | 43,366 | +3,043 |
| Myanmar | 29,413 | +12,817 |
| Sri Lanka | 17,626 | +5,357 |
As of 2025-05-01 · JASSO ↗
Foreign residents in Japan — FAQ
How many foreigners live in Japan?
About 4,125,395 as of the end of 2025 — a record, up roughly 356,418 on the year. The number has risen every year as work and study routes expand.
Which nationality is the largest foreign community in Japan?
Chinese nationals are the largest at about 930,428, followed by Vietnamese and South Koreans. The table above ranks the top ten.
Which prefecture has the most foreign residents?
Tokyo, with about 801,438, far ahead of Osaka and Aichi. The full ranking of all 47 prefectures is above.