As of October 2024, the United States had nearly 413,400 Japanese citizens, making it the country with the highest number of Japanese residents outside of Japan itself. The United States counted around four times as many Japanese citizens as second-placed Australia.  Japanese immigrants in the United States Lately, there has been an increase in the migration of Japanese individuals, especially to the United States, which has the largest immigrant population worldwide. This surge in Japanese migration to the United States can largely be attributed to the substantial presence of Japanese companies with offices in the country, which ranks among the highest globally. Consequently, many Japanese nationals choose to relocate to the United States in pursuit of employment opportunities offered by these companies.  Status of immigrants in Japan The total number of foreign residents in Japan has been rising lately, with Tokyo having the highest number of foreign nationals registered among 47 prefectures. The main nationality of foreign residents living in Japan are people from the Asia region: China, Vietnam, and South Korea. The increasing number of foreign nationals working in Japan is indicative of the growing interest in job opportunities within the country.

As of October 2023, Los Angeles was host to the highest number of Japanese residents among cities outside of Japan with about 64.46 thousand Japanese residents. In the same year, the United States was the country with by far the highest number of Japanese residents outside of Japan.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, about 64.46 thousand Japanese residents lived in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, therefore, had the highest number of Japanese residents among any city outside of Japan. In the same year, the United States was by far the country with the highest number of Japanese residents. In the observed time frame, the Japanese population size in Los Angeles has been shrinking gradually each year, starting at about 69.29 thousand expats ten years ago.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship, but people with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 414.62 thousand residents from Japan were living in the United States, the lowest number in five years. At close to 447 thousand expats, 2018 was the year with the highest number of Japanese citizens living in America within the past decade.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 11.94 thousand Japanese residents were registered in Switzerland, the second highest amount of the past decade. The number gradually increased throughout the surveyed period, starting at about 10.17 thousand residents in 2014.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 99.83 thousand Japanese residents lived in Australia. In the observed time frame, numbers have steadily increased until they peaked in 2019 at more than 103.6 thousand Japanese residents, but then decreased significantly in the following two years.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

In 2023, approximately 3.4 million residents of foreign nationality were registered in Japan, making up below three percent of the population. The total number of foreign residents increased by almost 1.3 million in the last decade. Development of immigration to JapanExcept for a large minority of people of Korean descent who have lived in Japan since the first half of the twentieth century, immigration of people from other countries did not become an issue in Japan until the 1980s when the economy required more labor. A revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in 1990 allowed people of Japanese descent, so-called nikkeijin, to enter the country and work without restrictions. The nikkeijin who entered Japan in the years that followed mainly came from Brazil and other South American countries. Chinese immigration increased as well throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. A breakdown of foreign residents by major nationalities shows that Chinese immigrants overtook Koreans as the largest minority group in 2007. People from Vietnam were the strongest growing minority in the 2010s. Recent immigration reformDue to its demographic changes, Japan has a relatively low unemployment rate. As a consequence, a large share of companies reports labor shortages. The temporary immigration of foreign workers is considered one of the possible solutions to this problem, next to the increasing labor market participation of women and the elderly. In December 2018, the Japanese parliament passed a major immigration reform that became enacted in April 2019. The reform allowed lower- and semi-skilled workers to enter the country and work in one of 14 different industries suffering from a lack of labor. The vast majority of participants are not allowed to bring their family members and are expected to return to their respective countries after their terms in Japan end.

As of October 2023, approximately 20.4 thousand Japanese residents were registered in the San Francisco metropolitan area, the highest amount of the past decade. In the same year, the United States was the country with the highest number of Japanese residents by far. Within the observed time frame, the size of the Japanese population has been growing gradually each year, with 2020 being the only exception to this general upward trend.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 8.2 thousand Japanese residents lived in India, the second lowest number of the past decade. The Japanese population in this South Asian country gradually increased until 2019, when it peaked at around 10.3 thousand people.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

As of October 2023, around 32.49 thousand Japanese residents lived in Greater London. In the observed time frame, the size of the Japanese population has been shrinking from approximately 38.4 thousand residents in 2014 to the low-point of the decade in 2018 with less than 30 thousand residents. Despite the general downward trend, the capital of England was still by far the most popular European city to live in for Japanese residents overseas.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 101.8 thousand Japanese residents lived in China, the lowest number of the past decade. In the observed time frame, the number of Japanese residents in China decreased steadily each year, starting at around 133.9 thousand Japanese nationals in 2014. The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, Poland was home to approximately 2.14 Japanese residents, the highest amount of the past decade. In the observed time frame, the Japanese population grew steadily each year, starting at about 1.26 thousand individuals in 2014.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 64.97 thousand Japanese residents lived in the United Kingdom, slightly decreasing from the previous year. Numbers peaked in 2015 at about 68 thousand residents, but dropped to the ten-year low-point of about 60.6 thousand residents quickly afterwards in 2018.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

Over the last decade, Japan’s population has aged more and more, to the point where more than a quarter of Japanese were 65 years and older in 2022. Population growth has stopped and even reversed, since it’s been in the red for several years now.

It’s getting old

With almost 30 percent of its population being elderly inhabitants, Japan is considered the “oldest” country in the world today. Japan boasts a high life expectancy, in fact, the Japanese tend to live longer than the average human worldwide. The increase of the aging population is accompanied by a decrease of the total population caused by a sinking birth rate. Japan’s fertility rate has been below the replacement rate for many decades now, mostly due to economic uncertainty and thus a decreasing number of marriages.

Are the Japanese invincible?

There is no real mystery surrounding the ripe old age of so many Japanese. Their high average age is very likely due to high healthcare standards, nutrition, and an overall high standard of living – all of which could be adopted by other industrial nations as well. But with high age comes less capacity, and Japan’s future enemy might not be an early death, but rather a struggling social network.

As of October 2023, approximately 42.08 thousand residents from Japan were living in Germany. Numbers peaked in 2017 when around 45.8 thousand residents were reported, but have been on a steady downward trend ever since.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2023, approximately 6.67 thousand Japanese residents lived in Düsseldorf, the second lowest number of the past decade. The western German city is known for being home to the largest Japanese community within Germany.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

As of October 2018, more than 11.3 thousand Japanese residents lived in the Gold Coast. The number steadily increased throughout the surveyed period. The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.

The statistic shows the total population in Japan from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, the total population of Japan amounted to around 124.48 million inhabitants. See the figures for the population of South Korea for comparison. Total population in Japan From steadily low fertility rates to a growing elderly population, it is no secret that Japan’s population is shrinking. Population growth rates jump around a little, but are currently following a declining trend. The post-war baby boom generation is now in the 65-and-over age group, and the percentage of the population in that category is expected to keep growing, as is indicated by a high median age and high life expectancy. Japan already has the highest percentage of its population over 65 in the world, and the aging population puts some pressure on the Japanese government to provide welfare services for more people as rising numbers leave the workforce. However, the amount of jobs opened up for the younger generations by the older generations leaving the workforce means that unemployment is kept to a minimum. Despite a jump in unemployment after the global recession hit in 2008, rates were almost back to pre-recession rates by 2013. Another factor affecting Japan is the number of emigrants to other countries. The United States absorbs a number of emigrants worldwide, so despite a stagnating birth rate, the U.S. has seen a steady rise in population.

As of October 2023, around 30.32 thousand Japanese residents lived in Sydney. Sydney was therefore one of the cities with the highest number of Japanese residents outside of Japan. Similarly, Australia was one of the countries with the highest number of Japanese residents. In the observed time frame, the size of the Japanese population in the city has been growing gradually until it peaked in 2019 at close to 34.7 thousand individuals, but has been decreasing significantly ever since.The statistic, which is based on the information gathered by Japanese diplomatic missions abroad, does not include descendants of Japanese emigrants (nikkeijin) who do not hold Japanese citizenship. People with multiple citizenship are counted.