Japan’s Foreign Resident Population Hits Record 4.28 Million

Japan’s foreign-resident population reached a record 4.28 million at the end of June 2026, an increase of about 155,000 since the end of 2025 and roughly 3.5% of the population. The increase comes as Japan faces a shrinking, aging population and labor shortages, even while anti-immigration sentiment grows and the government tightens some residency and visa rules. Permanent residents were the largest group, followed by workers in engineering and related professional fields and students; Chinese nationals were the largest nationality group, followed by Vietnamese and South Koreans. Tighter eligibility requirements were associated with a sharp drop in new arrivals on business-manager visas, while overall foreign entries in the first half of the year were slightly lower than a year earlier.