Vietnamese community remains Japan’s second largest foreign group
VOV.VN - The Vietnamese community was Japan’s second largest foreign resident group, with around 693,800 people as of June 2026, as the country’s foreign resident population reached a record high of more than 4.28 million.
Data released by Japan’s Immigration Services Agency on October 16 showed that the country had 4,281,026 foreign residents legally residing in Japan at the end of June, up around 3.8% from the end of 2025. The figures exclude short-term visitors, such as tourists.
By nationality and region, Chinese nationals formed the largest group, at 941,031, followed by Vietnamese nationals at 693,800, Koreans at 408,700 and Filipinos at 362,800. Nepalese, Indonesians and Myanmar nationals also accounted for sizeable foreign resident communities.
Among the 10 largest nationality groups, Indonesians recorded the biggest numerical increase, rising by 41,387 to 307,456. The number of Nepalese residents climbed by 33,858 to 334,850, while Myanmar nationals increased by 29,035 to 211,602.
By residence status, permanent residents made up the largest category, numbering 961,342, up 1.5% from the end of 2025. They were followed by foreign nationals holding the “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” status, at 516,184, an increase of 8.5%, and international students, at 479,626, up 3.2%.
The number of those holding the Specified Skilled Worker visa, introduced in 2019 to address labour shortages in sectors such as nursing care, agriculture and food services, recorded an even larger increase of 53,960, bringing the total to 444,256.
International students in Japan rose by 14,842 to 479,626, while technical intern trainees increased marginally by 891 to 457,509.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign nationals arriving in Japan during the first six months of 2026 rose slightly from a year earlier, according to a third set of figures released by the agency that included temporary visitors.
Foreign arrivals, including new entrants and reentrants, rose 0.3% year on year to 21.45 million in the first half. New foreign arrivals fell marginally by 0.1% to 19.71 million, with temporary visitors accounting for 98.2% of the total.
The Republic of Korea was the largest source of new arrivals, with 5.55 million, up 19% from the previous year.
Vietnamese community in Japan celebrates mid-autumn festival
The Cay Tre (Bamboo) Vietnamese language school went vibrant with lanterns, folk games, and laughter as more than 100 students and their families gathered at the mid-autumn festival, which was held with the support of the Consulate General of Vietnam in Osaka on September 28.
