Japan's foreign residents have doubled since 2012, passing 4 million
Foreign residents in Japan at each year-end, millions, 2012–2025.
Foreign residents at end-2025, a record and 2.03 times the 2.03 million of end-2012.
Vietnamese residents rose from 52,367 in 2012 to 681,100 in 2025; Nepalis rose 12.5-fold to 300,992.
South Koreans fell from 489,431 to 407,341 as the long-settled communities shrank and new arrivals came from South and Southeast Asia.
the numbers
| Year | Foreign residents in Japan (M) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.03 |
| 2013 | 2.07 |
| 2014 | 2.12 |
| 2015 | 2.23 |
| 2016 | 2.38 |
| 2017 | 2.56 |
| 2018 | 2.73 |
| 2019 | 2.93 |
| 2020 | 2.89 |
| 2021 | 2.76 |
| 2022 | 3.08 |
| 2023 | 3.41 |
| 2024 | 3.77 |
| 2025 | 4.13 |
source notes & method
Year-end totals from the Agency's end-2025 summary (Table 1, https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001465923.pdf). Nationality values for 2012 from the end-2022 tables (https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001393064.pdf). The series starts in 2012 because the current residence-card definition began that year; earlier years count registrants differently. Ratios and % changes are derived. Mid-2026 total was 4,281,026 (Agency figure as reported by Kyodo, Oct 2026), not charted.
Published 3 Nov 2026
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