Foreign residents in Japan hit record high for 2nd year

The number of legal foreign residents in Japan came to 2,382,822 at the end of 2016, hitting a record high for the second straight year, due to robust inflows from Vietnam, the Justice Ministry said Friday.

The figure rose 6.7 pct from a year earlier.

The ministry also said illegal foreign residents increased 3.9 pct to total 65,270 as of Jan. 1, extending the rising streak to a third year, also thanks to the upsurge from Vietnam.

The total legal foreign residents, such as authorized workers and students, included 695,522 from China, 453,096 from South Korea, 243,662 from the Philippines and 199,990 from Vietnam.

On the total overstayers, 13,265 were from South Korea, 8,846 from China, 6,507 from Thailand and 5,137 from Vietnam.

Source: Jiji
Image: Bank Image