Record number of Chinese foreigners in Japan

International Business News – On March 24, the Immigration Bureau of Japan announced that there were 3,075,213 foreigners in Japan by the end of 2022. This is an 11% increase over the previous year, a record high and higher than the previous year after 2 years. Analysis suggests that the relaxation of border measures such as the new crown epidemic played a role.

In terms of countries and regions, China has the largest number of people at 760,000. Followed by 480,000 Vietnamese and 410,000 Koreans.

66% of Japan’s top foreign talents are from China

High-end foreign workers are foreigners who have professional knowledge and skills and work in Japanese companies and research institutions. The official website of the Japan Immigration Agency explains, “(High-end foreign talents are) those who are expected to bring innovation to Japanese industries and improve the efficiency of the labor market”. Japan has been expanding the attraction of human resources through the “Highly Specialized Job”, a new status of residence established in 2012. As of the end of June 2022, there will be 17,199 high-end foreign workers, accounting for 0.6% of the total number of foreigners residing in Japan.

If you obtain the status of High-end Foreign Worker, you can apply for permanent residency, which normally requires a 10-year stay in Japan, in just three years. Spouse employment is also permitted, and relatives and servants can be brought along. You can obtain the status if you achieve a total of 70 points based on your education, work experience and Japanese language ability. If you achieve 80 points, you can reduce the period of stay required to apply for permanent residency to one year.

By nationality, 66% of the applicants will be from China by the end of 2021, far ahead of India (6%) and Korea (4%). The Japanese government hopes to attract semiconductor and storage battery factories from abroad to Japan against the backdrop of the yen’s depreciation. As powerful foreign companies move into Japan, the number of high-end foreign talents entering Japan is likely to grow.