By Status of Residence

Data by residency status and by city are available as open data from 2019, but below we will review residency trends by each residency status.

Highly Skilled Professional (ⅰ) (a)

Foreign residents are gathered around Tokyo. Many also stay in the Osaka area and other regional cities. In areas other than those heavily populated, the numbers are small, and the density’s difference is large.

Highly Skilled Professional (ⅰ) (b)

Many stay in the Tokyo area and Hiroshima, whereas fewer stay in other areas, causing a large difference in density.

Highly Skilled Professional (ⅰ) (c)

Most stay around Tokyo, and many also staying around Osaka and Fukuoka. Fewer residents stay in other areas, causing a large difference in density.

Highly Skilled Professional (ⅱ)

Most of them live around Tokyo, with many also staying in Aichi, Osaka, and Hiroshima. Other areas have fewer residents.

Business Manager

Foreign residents in business administration are not very widely distributed throughout Japan. Instead, they are mainly concentrated in the Kanto region, including Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, and Tochigi prefectures. Foreign residents are frequently seen in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, with the number remaining almost unchanged throughout the 3-year period.

Legal/Accounting Services

Distribution of foreign residents in legal and accounting services is not wide, being concentrated in the 23 wards of Tokyo, for instance, Minato Ward, which had 63 in 2021; Machida City, Tokyo, which had very few, one each in 2020 and 2021; and Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, which had one in all 3 years.

Medical Services

Nationwide, distribution of foreign residents in medical care is not extensive but confined mainly to a few areas, for example, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Nagano prefectures. Throughout the 3-year period, there were, at most, about 20 foreigners in a single municipality and about five in other areas.

Researcher

Distribution of foreign residents for research purposes is very small nationwide. Particular concentrations are found in the coastal areas of Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and, to a lesser extent, in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Instructor

Compared to other areas’ data, it is understandable that the number of foreign residents in education is not only highly distributed in Honshu, but also concentrated mainly in the Kyushu region’s coastal areas. In contrast, in Hokkaido, the number of foreign residents is particularly concentrated only in Tomakomai City and other areas.

Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services

For engineers, specialists in humanities, and international services, the number of foreign residents did not change distribution significantly from 2019 to 2021. In addition, the number of foreign residents is not only concentrated in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture—2,031 in Shibuya Ward in 2021—but also in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, and Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, where a large number gathered throughout the 3 years.

Intra-company Transferee

Foreign residents for intra-company transfers are found mainly in the coastal areas of Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, the coastal areas of the Jyoshinetsu region, and the Setouchi area, but the overall distribution has remained virtually unchanged throughout the 3 years. In particular, there were 224 people in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo in 2021, and 11 in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture.

Nursing Care

Distribution of caregivers’ residences shows that they are concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region, which have large populations. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the concentration tends to be from central Tokyo to northwestern Chiba Prefecture, while in the Kansai region, it is in northern Osaka Prefecture, Kobe City, and the surrounding area in Hyogo Prefecture. There is also a concentration in the three Hokuriku prefectures.

Entertainer

Distribution of foreign residents in the entertainment industry has changed little over the 3 years. In most rural areas, the number is slightly less than 10. However, in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, the number was 19 in 2021, but by 2019, 53 foreign residents had gathered there. Additionally, Saga City, Saga Prefecture had 31 in 2021.

Skilled Labor

The number of foreign residents in the technical field is concentrated in the Tokai and Kanto regions, and in the southern part of Hokkaido, such as Urakawa Town, rather than in the Kyushu and Shikoku regions. In the southern part of Hokkaido, in particular, there were 237 people in Urakawa Town and 221 people in Hidaka Town in 2019. Understandably, the numbers are higher than those in the urban area of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, where there were 128 people. However, in Minato Ward, Tokyo, the number was 291, and in Koto Ward, Tokyo, 544.

Technical Intern Training (ⅰ) (a)

Many stay in various places except Hokkaido and Kyushu. They are concentrated in the Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, and Chugoku regions. The number of residents is particularly high in the northern Kanto, Tokai, and eastern Chugoku regions. Large cities like Tokyo and Osaka do not have a large number, and although the overall number was high in 2019, cities with a large number decreased from 2019 to 2021.

Technical Intern Training (ⅰ) (b)

Many stay in various parts of the country. In particular, many live in Hokuriku, Tokai, Setouchi, Kitakyushu, and Southern Kyushu, from northern Kanto to Chiba. Tohoku, Hokkaido, and Shikoku have a relatively small number of residents, but some cities have many residents.

Technical Intern Training (ⅱ) (a)

Many stay in Hokuriku, Tokai, and Setouchi. A few also stay in Kanto and Tohoku.

Technical Intern Training (ⅱ) (b)

Many stay in various parts of the country, and the total number is large. A particularly high number reside in areas west of the Kanto region, excluding Shikoku.

Technical Intern Training (ⅲ) (a)

Many cities have a large number of residents, with a rapid increase from 2019 to 2021.

Technical Intern Training (ⅲ) (b)

Many stay in an area ranging from Kanto to Kyushu, and the total number is large.

Specified Skilled Worker (ⅰ)

Specified Skilled Worker (ⅰ) are concentrated in the Northern Kanto, Tokai, and Chubu Setouchi regions, and in cities in Kyushu and Hokkaido, with numbers increasing from 2019 to 2021.

Student

Foreign students’ distribution remains almost unchanged from 2019 to 2021. The number in Tokyo is particularly high compared to the rest of Japan. In 2021, for example, the number of foreign students in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture was 250 compared to 2,191 in Arakawa Ward and 1,996 in Koto Ward.

Trainee

The number is not widely distributed throughout Japan, with almost all areas in the Tohoku region having 0 people in 2021. Moreover, in Shiga and Yamaguchi prefectures, where several foreign residents were training in 2019, there were 0 in 2021, indicating that the number in 2021 was very small nationwide.

Dependent

From 2019 to 2021, the number of foreigners residing in urban areas, especially in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, and Hyogo Prefectures, was particularly high, especially for family stays. For example, in 2021, the number was 1,046 in Chuo Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. In addition, in Ibaraki Prefecture, the number in Tsukuba City was 1,250, while Tsuchiura City and Joso City had about 250, indicating a concentration in Tsukuba City. The overall distribution has remained almost unchanged over the 3 years.

Designated Activities

Most foreign residents admitted for specific activities stay in the Tokyo area, with many also in the Aichi, Mie, and Hiroshima areas. The number increased from 2019 to 2021.