TOKYO – Filipinos are the fourth-largest group of foreign residents in Japan, with more than 330,000 in the first half of 2024, according to the latest data from the Immigration Services Agency (ISA).
The ISA reported that 332,293 Filipino nationals resided in Japan as of the end of June, an increase of 10,247 from the end of 2023.
Chinese nationals remained the largest group of foreign residents in the Land of the Rising Sun, with 844,187 individuals, followed by 600,348 Vietnamese and 411,043 South Koreans. Brazilians ranked fifth, with 212,325 residents.
Japan’s overall foreign resident population reached a record high of 3,588,956 in the first six months of the year, an increase of 177,964 from the end of last year.
Permanent residents comprised the largest group by residential status.
Meanwhile, the number of overstayers in the country as of July 1 was 77,935, a decrease of 1,178 from Jan. 1.
Filipinos ranked fifth among visa violators, with 4,934 individuals, a decrease of 135 from the beginning of the year. Vietnamese nationals made up the largest group, followed by Thais, South Koreans, and Chinese. - Florenda Corpuz
(Pedestrians cross a street in Tokyo on Jan. 18, 2024. Photo by Din Eugenio)
