Number of foreign residents Japan 2014-2023

In 2023, approximately 3.4 million residents of foreign nationality were registered in Japan, making up below three percent of the population. The total number of foreign residents increased by almost 1.3 million in the last decade. Development of immigration to JapanExcept for a large minority of people of Korean descent who have lived in Japan since the first half of the twentieth century, immigration of people from other countries did not become an issue in Japan until the 1980s when the economy required more labor. A revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1990 allowed people of Japanese descent, so-called nikkeijin, to enter the country and work without restrictions. The nikkeijin who entered Japan in the years that followed mainly came from Brazil and other South American countries. Chinese immigration increased as well throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. A breakdown of foreign residents by major nationalities shows that Chinese immigrants overtook Koreans as the largest minority group in 2007. People from Vietnam were the strongest growing minority in the 2010s. Recent immigration reformDue to its demographic changes, Japan has a relatively low unemployment rate. As a consequence, a large share of companies reports labor shortages. The temporary immigration of foreign workers is considered one of the possible solutions to this problem, next to the increasing labor market participation of women and the elderly. In December 2018, the Japanese parliament passed a major immigration reform that became enacted in April 2019. The reform allowed lower- and semi-skilled workers to enter the country and work in one of 14 different industries suffering from a lack of labor. The vast majority of participants are not allowed to bring their family members and are expected to return to their respective countries after their terms in Japan end.

至2023年，约340万外籍居民在日本登记注册，占人口比例不足百分之三。在过去十年中，外籍居民总数增长了近130万人。自二十世纪上半叶以来，韩国血统的居民在日本生活，其移民问题并未在日本成为焦点，直至1980年代，随着经济对劳动力的需求增加。1990年对《移民控制及难民认定法》的修订，使得日本血统的人，即所谓的日系移民，得以不受限制地进入日本工作。随后进入日本的日系移民主要来自巴西及其他南美国家。在1990年代和2000年代初期，中国移民的数量也不断增加。按主要国籍划分的外籍居民数据显示，2007年中国移民超过了韩国人，成为最大的少数群体。在2010年代，越南人成为了增长最快的少数群体。最近的移民改革鉴于人口结构的变化，日本拥有相对较低的失业率。因此，许多公司报告了劳动力短缺的问题。除了提高妇女和老年人的劳动力市场参与度之外，外国工人的临时移民被视为解决这一问题的可能途径之一。2018年12月，日本国会通过了一项重大移民改革，该改革于2019年4月生效。该改革允许低技能和半技能工人进入日本，并在14个劳动力短缺的不同行业中工作。绝大多数参与者不允许携带家庭成员，并预期在日本的工作期限结束后返回各自的国家。