The number of Chinese in Osaka has doubled in 10 years

In Naniwa and Nishinari districts of Osaka, Japan, the area where Chinese live in single-family houses is gradually expanding. These two districts are very convenient to Kansai International Airport and are easy to travel to and from mainland China. This advantage has been well received, and the sluggish Chinese economy and the depreciation of the yen have also played a role in boosting it. In addition to those who came to Japan as international students, found jobs after graduation, purchased real estate, and settled in Japan with permanent residence visas, there are also many wealthy people who have recently purchased real estate to settle in Japan and directly moved to Japan by obtaining business management visas.

In the residential area in the northwest of Nishinari district, the sound of Chinese broadcasts came from the houses with gorgeous Chinese decorations. The residential area has been developed into a long and narrow “コ” shape, with three-story houses with parking lots on the first floor neatly arranged. In addition to houses with personal surnames such as “Chen・Lin” and “Sun・Xie”, there are also houses with company or special zone B&B signs, mixed with houses with Japanese famous names. Such development plots can be seen everywhere in the surrounding area.

In this area, two real estate companies in Osaka City built single-family houses of about 20 to 80 households using land sold by the city government due to the merger and abolition of public facilities and old factory sites.

The Osaka Chinese School, which has kindergartens, elementary schools and junior high schools for overseas Chinese and Chinese, is located in Naniwa Ward. In addition, the area has convenient transportation to the center of Osaka and Kansai Airport, and the housing prices are relatively cheap. Information has been widely spread through word of mouth among Chinese. In some development plots, Chinese residents account for 90% of the population.

According to the population data of the “Basic Resident Register”, as of September 2014, there were more than 26,000 Chinese from mainland China living in Osaka City, but it has almost doubled in 10 years, reaching 49,999 in September 2024, and is about to exceed 50,000. In terms of nationality, the number is second only to South Korea and North Korea. The largest number of Chinese people are in Chuo Ward, followed by Naniwa Ward and Nishinari Ward. As of the end of September, the total number of Chinese living in these two districts reached 8,343. The number of people in Nishinari Ward has reached about 1.6 times that of five years ago.

A team formed by Toshio Mizuuchi, a visiting professor at Osaka Public University, and Lu Lijun, an associate professor at Fukuoka Prefectural University, visited the development sites in the two districts from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023, and conducted a questionnaire survey on 172 single-family houses judged to be inhabited by overseas Chinese and Chinese based on house numbers, and received responses from 34 households.

The survey results show that 55% of the households have been in Japan for 11 to 20 years, but 21% of the households have been in Japan for less than 7 years. In terms of current residence status, permanent residence status accounts for the highest proportion, reaching 59%, and business management visas for operating homestays and catering businesses in Japan account for 15%.

In terms of age, people aged 30 to 49 account for 77%. The education level is high, with 53% of college graduates and 21% of master’s degree or above. In terms of annual household income, half of the households exceed 5 million yen, of which 15% exceed 8 million yen. In terms of house prices, 53% of them are priced around 30 million yen. It can be seen that the new middle class with high education and high income are buying houses.

Visiting professor Toshio Mizuuchi believes that “the model of international students settling down after graduating from university and getting a stable income was once the mainstream, but a new phenomenon has emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic, that is, the wealthy class who do not speak Japanese but have money have begun to move directly from China to Japan.” The trend of buying single-family houses is also expanding in Kawaguchi City and Warabi City, Saitama Prefecture, where the same survey was conducted.

In the past, examples of choosing residential buildings were more prominent, but families with children seem to be starting to choose single-family houses. The survey showed that the family structure of couples with minor children reached 58%. Since China does not recognize private ownership of land, the slogan of “buildings and land belong to you” in Japan is attractive.

The challenge is the relationship with neighbors. The connection between Chinese residents is strong, but a kind of “residential separation” has formed between them and Japanese residents. There are also some areas where both sides have started to communicate. Associate Professor Lu Lijun said, “I hope more residents can take a half step, go out of their own areas, and communicate with each other.” She also pointed out that “local governments should also take disasters into consideration and promote the construction of mutual assistance networks and other communication platforms.”

Chinese couple in Naniwa Ward: “It only takes 2 hours to get to Shanghai where my parents live”

Wang Daoming (pseudonym), who is in his 60s, bought two newly built single-family houses in Naniwa Ward two years ago for a total price of about 120 million yen. The couple lives in one house and runs a B&B in the other.

After retiring from his company in Shanghai, Wang Daoming traveled to Japan many times before deciding to move. He said, “It only takes 2 hours from Kansai Airport to Shanghai where my parents live, and it feels like being in China. It’s safe here, the food is delicious, and I travel all over Japan.” Wang Daoming sold the stocks of his work unit, collected information from friends, and finally decided to buy a property in Naniwa Ward.

The B&B business is also going well, with many guests from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places. Only about one-sixth of the visitors are from mainland China.

Since Wang Daoming cannot speak Japanese, it is difficult for him to participate in local activities. He plans to learn Japanese formally in a Japanese language classroom in the future. He said: “Once I can speak Japanese, I will be able to participate in local activities easily.”