Number of foreign residents in Japan hits record high at 2.23 mil. in 2015

The number of foreign residents in Japan came to 2,232,189 at the end of 2015, rewriting an all-time high, the Justice Ministry said Friday. Of the total, 665,847 were from mainland China, 457,772 from South Korea and 229,595 from the Philippines. The 2015 sum of medium- to long-term foreign residents and specially permitted permanent residents exceeded the previous record of 2.14 million marked at the end of 2008 due partly to Japan’s economic recovery, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the number of illegal foreign residents rose for the second consecutive year to stand at 62,818 as of Jan. 1. South Korean overstayers, the largest group, numbered 13,412, followed by 8,741 from China and 5,959 from Thailand. The ministry also said as many as 5,904 foreigners who came to Japan as trainees fled from their workplaces. Source: Jiji Press Video and image: TNO News Share this:TweetEmail