Japan’s Foreign Workers Hit New Record of 2.3 Million

As of October 2024, foreign workers in Japan totaled 2.3 million, up 12.4% or around 250,000 year on year. The figure, announced by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in January 2025, is the highest since 2008, when data was first compiled.

By nationality, Vietnam had the largest number of workers in Japan, at around 570,000 or 24.8% of the total, followed by China and the Philippines, with 400,000 and 240,000, respectively. The largest year-on-year increases came from Myanmar (61.0%), Indonesia (39.5%), and Sri Lanka (33.7%).

By industry, the largest number of foreign workers were employed in manufacturing (26.0% of the total), followed by the service sector (15.4%) and wholesale and retail (13.0%). The largest year-on year increases in workers occurred in the fields of healthcare and social welfare (28.1%), construction (22.7%), and hotels and dining (16.9%).

The three prefectures with the most foreign workers were Tokyo (25.4% of overall total), Aichi (10.0%), and Osaka (7.6%), reflecting their concentration in the major urban areas.

In terms of the visa status of foreign workers, the number of those working under a visa related to a specialized or technical field rose year on year by 20.6%, to 720,000, the largest number on record. This is a category that includes such professions as doctors, lawyers, engineers, nursing care workers, and other highly specialized professionals. Meanwhile, there were 630,000 “status-based residents,” such as permanent residents or spouses of Japanese nationals.

Like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also accepting foreign workers to deal with their respective labor shortages, so the global competition for human resources is intensifying. The reasons that foreign workers are attracted to Japan, according to an MHLW official, include “its system for accepting workers and the public safety of the country.”

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)