Japan now home to 211,602 Myanmar nationals after one-year rise of 29,035

Japan's foreign resident population reached a record 4,281,026 at the end of June 2026, a rise of 3.8% in six months that lifted foreign residents to 3.48% of the country's total population, according to figures released by the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) on 16 October 2026. Myanmar nationals were among the fastest-growing communities, increasing by 29,035 to 211,602.

The total was up 155,631 from the end of 2025, though the pace of growth slowed compared with the 5.0% increase recorded in the first half of 2025. The count excludes temporary visitors staying in the country for less than three months.

Key facts

• 4,281,026 foreign residents as of the end of June 2026, up 3.8% from the end of 2025
• Foreign residents make up a record 3.48% of Japan's total population
• Myanmar nationals: 211,602, an increase of 29,035
• Overstayers fell 4.8% to 65,229 as of 1 July
• Foreign arrivals in the first half of 2026 totalled 21.45 million, up 0.3%

Which nationalities make up the largest communities?

Chinese nationals remained the biggest foreign community in Japan at 941,031, followed by Vietnamese at 693,750 and South Koreans at 408,682. Among the 10 largest nationality groups, Indonesians posted the biggest numerical increase, climbing 41,387 to 307,456, while the Nepalese population grew by 33,858 to 334,850.

Brazil was the only nationality among the top 10 to record a decline, falling by 464 to 209,550.

Which residence statuses are growing fastest?

Permanent residents remained the largest group by residence status, at 961,342, an increase of 14,217 from the end of 2025. The number of people holding the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa, which covers a broad range of professional and white-collar jobs, rose by 40,394 to 516,184.

The Specified Skilled Worker visa, introduced in 2019 to address labour shortages in sectors such as nursing care, agriculture and food services, saw the largest rise of any category, up 53,960 to 444,256. International students increased by 14,842 to 479,626, while technical intern trainees edged up by 891 to 457,509.

Where do foreign residents live?

Tokyo Prefecture continued to host the largest foreign population, with 824,486 residents — 19.3% of all foreign residents in Japan and 5.76% of the prefecture's own population. The capital added 23,048 foreign residents from the end of 2025. Osaka Prefecture ranked second with 389,846, ahead of Aichi with 369,849, Kanagawa with 331,515 and Saitama with 305,867.

What is happening with overstayers?

Separate ISA data showed the number of foreign nationals staying beyond their permitted period of residence fell to 65,229 as of 1 July, a drop of 3,259, or 4.8%, from the start of the year. Thailand overtook Vietnam as the nationality with the most overstayers, at 10,260, down 647 from January, followed by Vietnam with 10,135 and South Korea with 9,759.

All but one of the 10 largest nationality groups saw declines, with Sri Lanka the exception at 2,378, up 287. The agency said 6,020 people who had become overstayers since the start of the year were still in Japan without valid permission as of 1 July, including 1,402 Vietnamese, 1,049 Thai and 611 Indonesian nationals.

How many foreign nationals arrived in Japan?

Foreign arrivals, including new entrants and reentrants, totalled 21.45 million in the first six months of 2026, up 71,050, or 0.3%, from a year earlier. New arrivals slipped 0.1% to 19.71 million, with temporary visitors accounting for 98.2% of that total. South Korea was the largest source at 5.55 million, up 19%, followed by Taiwan at 3.77 million, up 21.2%, and the United States at 1.79 million, up 7.3%.

Special landing permission, a category covering crew members and cruise ship passengers, plunged 32.2% to 1.37 million, and cruise ship tourist landings fell 64.1% to 281,792 — a decrease of more than 503,000 from a year earlier. Combined arrivals and special landings therefore fell 2.5% to 22.82 million. Japanese departures, meanwhile, rose 5.1% to 6.94 million, an increase of 335,619.

The ISA released the three sets of figures on 16 October 2026. The residence statistics cover the period to the end of June 2026 and exclude people staying in Japan for less than three months; the overstayer figures are as of 1 July 2026.