According to the ISA, there were more than 2.76 million foreigners in Japan at the end of 2021, down 4.4% from a year earlier, mainly due to the country’s tightening of border controls following a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second consecutive year that the number of foreigners in Japan has decreased. Among these foreigners in Japan, the largest groups are permanent residents – 831,157 people, followed by technical interns (276,123 people) and international students (207,830).

By country/region, China had the largest number of people in Japan – 716,606 people, accounting for 26% of the total number of foreigners in Japan, but down 7.6% from a year earlier. Vietnam ranked second with 432,934 people, accounting for 15.7% and down 3.4%. The next three positions belonged to the communities of people from South Korea, the Philippines and Brazil, with the respective proportions of 14.8%, 10.5% and 7.4%.

By prefecture, the five areas with the largest foreign population in Japan all saw a decrease in their numbers. Specifically, Tokyo had 531,131 foreigners, accounting for 19.5% of the total and down 5.2% from a year earlier; Aichi had 265,199, accounting for 9.6% and down 3.1%; Osaka had 246,157, accounting for 8.9% and down 3%; Kanagawa had 227,511, accounting for 8.2% and down 2.1%; and Saitama had 197,110, accounting for 7.1% and down 0.6%. The only two prefectures with an increase in the number of foreigners were Yamanashi and Shimane.

Also according to ISA, last year, the number of foreigners deported from Japan for violating immigration control laws decreased by 1,328 to 4,122.