Number of foreign residents in Japan hits new high at 3.4% of population

TOKYO - The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record 4.28 million at the end of June, accounting for 3.4 percent of the total population, government data showed Friday, despite tighter visa regulations taking a toll in some areas.

The figure was up by around 155,000 compared with the end of 2025, while foreign nationals newly entering the country on business manager visas in the first half of 2026 plunged to 635, falling 80.9 percent from a year earlier following the tightening of requirements last October, according to the Immigration Services Agency.