Tokyo, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)–The number of foreign residents in Japan as of the end of June rose 3.8 pct from the end of 2025 to a record 4,281,026, Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said Friday. Foreign residents accounted for 3.5 pct of the country’s total population. In the first half of 2026, however, the number of foreigners entering Japan edged down 0.1 pct from a year earlier to 19,706,953. “We will continue to implement strict yet smooth immigration management so that both Japanese citizens and foreign residents can live safely and securely,” Yamashita told a press conference. The total number of foreign residents as of the end of June included 941,031 people from China, the largest group by nationality, followed by Vietnamese, South Koreans, Filipinos, Nepalese, Indonesians and Myanmar nationals. By status of residence, permanent residents made up the largest share, followed by specialists in engineering, humanities and international services, foreign students, technical intern trainees and specified skilled workers. Meanwhile, the decline in the number of foreigners entering Japan chiefly stemmed from a 57.3 pct plunge in the number of short-term Chinese visitors following the Chinese government’s advisory against travel to Japan, according to the Immigration Services Agency. Among new foreign entrants, the number of those granted business manager status plummeted 80.9 pct, apparently due to the increase in the minimum capital requirement from 5 million yen to 30 million yen, which took effect last October. The number of overstayers as of July 1 fell 4.8 pct from the beginning of this year to 65,229, apparently due to a strengthened crackdown on such individuals under the ministry’s Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan. There were more than 5,000 overstayers each from Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and China. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
