Japan had 4,281,026 foreign residents at the end of June 2026, a record, up 155,631 or 3.8% from 4,125,395 at the end of 2025, the Immigration Services Agency said. The comparison is against the end of last year, so the 3.8% is a six-month change, not an annual one.
The total is 4,017,321 mid- to long-term residents plus 263,705 special permanent residents. By the agency's definition, mid- to long-term residents hold a residence status under immigration law and exclude people granted stays of three months or less, short-term visitors and diplomatic or official residents.
Skilled-worker and professional visas lead
Specified skilled worker status grew by 53,960 to 444,256, the largest increase among the five most common statuses. Engineer/humanities/international services status added 40,394 to reach 516,184. Permanent residents, still the largest group, rose by 14,217 to 961,342, and students by 14,842 to 479,626. Technical intern numbers barely moved, up 891 to 457,509.
| Residence status | End-2025 | End-June 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent resident | 947,125 | 961,342 | +14,217 |
| Engineer/humanities/international services | 475,790 | 516,184 | +40,394 |
| Student | 464,784 | 479,626 | +14,842 |
| Technical intern | 456,618 | 457,509 | +891 |
| Specified skilled worker | 390,296 | 444,256 | +53,960 |
Within specified skilled worker status, the second tier is growing fastest. Category 2 holders rose from 7,955 at end-2025 to 18,295, while Category 1 holders rose from 382,341 to 425,961.
Not every business-facing status is rising. The business manager status fell from 46,781 to 42,747, a drop of 8.6%. The release gives no reason for the decline. Nursing-care status rose 23.4%, from 15,891 to 19,612.
Southeast and South Asia drive the nationality gains
Among the top ten nationalities, all but Brazil rose. Indonesia added 41,387 to 307,456, Nepal 33,858 to 334,850 and Myanmar 29,035 to 211,602. Vietnam, the second-largest group, grew by 12,650 to 693,750, and China, the largest, by 10,603 to 941,031. Brazil fell by 464 to 209,550.
Tokyo has the most foreign residents at 824,486, up 23,048 or 2.9% and 19.3% of the national total. Osaka, Aichi, Kanagawa and Saitama follow.
What the numbers do and do not measure
The figures count people by residence status at a point in time. The release gives no employment, vacancy or pay data, so permanent residents, students and family members in the total should not be read as a workforce count. For employers, the useful signal is the mix: the fastest-growing statuses are those tied to skilled and professional work, while technical intern numbers were nearly flat over the six months.