Kaoru Miyatake
Author Kaoru Miyatake Gyoseishoshi / Juris Doctor (J.D.) | MOJ-Certified Application Agent Chairperson, Sakura Training Organization (Public Interest Corporation) / Sakura Central Legal Office

The Immigration Services Agency (ISA) announced on October 16, 2026 the number of foreign residents in Japan as of the end of June 2026. There were 4,281,026 foreign residents, up 155,631 (3.8%) from the end of 2025 (4,125,395), a new record high. By status of residence, Specified Skilled Worker, Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services and others rose, while “Business Manager” fell 8.6% from 46,781 at the end of 2025 to 42,747.

Overall Picture (End of June 2026)

📌 ISA figures (as of the end of June 2026)
  • Foreign residents: 4,281,026 (up 3.8% from the end of 2025): 4,017,321 mid- to long-term residents and 263,705 special permanent residents
  • Sex: men 2,192,764 (51.2%), women 2,088,199 (48.8%)
  • Nationalities/regions: 195 (excluding stateless persons). Except for Brazil, all of the top 10 countries/regions increased from the end of 2025
  • Prefectures: Tokyo is the largest with 824,486 (up 23,048 or 2.9%, 19.3% of the national total), followed by Osaka, Aichi, Kanagawa and Saitama

By Status of Residence: Specified Skilled Worker and Engineer/Specialist Up, Business Manager Down

The largest status is “Permanent Resident” with 961,342 (22.5% of the total, up 1.5% from the end of 2025), followed by “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” with 516,184 (12.1%, up 8.5%), “Student” with 479,626 (11.2%, up 3.2%), “Technical Intern Training” with 457,509 (10.7%, up 0.2%), “Specified Skilled Worker” with 444,256 (10.4%, up 13.8%) and “Dependent” with 370,466 (8.7%, up 5.0%) (Table 3).

By Nationality/Region

China is the largest with 941,031 (22.0%, up 1.1%), followed by Vietnam with 693,750 (16.2%, up 1.9%), South Korea with 408,682 (9.5%, up 0.3%), the Philippines with 362,761 (8.5%, up 1.7%), Nepal with 334,850 (7.8%, up 11.2%), Indonesia with 307,456 (7.2%, up 15.6%), Myanmar with 211,602 (4.9%, up 15.9%) and Brazil with 209,550 (4.9%, down 0.2%). Bangladesh recorded the highest growth rate, up 18.8% to 53,398.

Practical Points (including the scrivener's view)

  • The published figures are totals of foreign residents and numbers by status of residence; they do not indicate whether an individual application will be granted. Check the criteria for each status and procedure against primary sources
  • The increases in Specified Skilled Worker (Categories 1 and 2) and Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services residents indicate continued demand for procedures by host companies and registered support organizations (certificates of eligibility, extension of period of stay, various notifications)
  • The ISA gives no reason for the decline in Business Manager residents. Reports say the October 2025 tightening of the criteria is believed to be a factor, but whether an individual renewal is granted depends on the individual situation, such as business condition, taxes, and social insurance enrollment and payment
  • For residence status applications and renewals, see our residence status guide

Sources