Foreign population in 10 Japan prefectures more than doubles in decade
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Vietnamese workers at a factory in Tochigi, Japan, in 2024.
PHOTO: NORIKO HAYASHI/NYTIMES
TOKYO – The population of non-Japanese residents in 10 prefectures has more than doubled over the past decade, data compiled by Kyodo News showed on Nov 22, underscoring that foreigners are rapidly moving into such areas in a bid to ease labour shortages.
Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu, Japan’s south-western main island, saw the highest rise in foreign residents, as its population more than tripled in size. Hokkaido, Okinawa and two other prefectures in Kyushu made up the top five.
Late in 2024, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co began mass production at its first factory in Kumamoto prefecture.
Kyushu and the southern island prefecture of Okinawa are geographically close to nearby Asian countries and regions.
Measures are in place to encourage international students to stay in Japan after they graduate, but the challenge is whether they can be prevented from moving to major urban areas.
All 47 of Japan’s prefectures recorded an increase in foreign residents, with the national total rising to 1.78 times the level 10 years earlier, according to comparisons of population data from Jan 1, 2015, and 2025.
Looking at Japanese residents, populations outside the larger cities show a clear trend of decline.
Many regions continue to lose younger people to urban centres, accelerating depopulation and highlighting the uneven demographic shifts across the nation. KYODO NEWS
