[Japan] Foreign worker numbers reach record level

In Japan, there were a record 1.82 million foreign workers as of the end of October 2022. The 5.5 per cent rise from the year before was primarily caused by labour shortages as well as foreign students and permanent residents finding employment, Kyodo News reports.

However, while the government data continues demonstrating a string of consecutive new annual highs recorded since 2013, the year-on-year increase was far below the 13.6 per cent rise in 2019; a result of the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

In response to the data, a labour ministry official reportedly stated that growth has dulled since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

Of the 1,822,725 foreigners in Japan's workforce, Vietnamese nationals accounted for 25.4 per cent, the most significant proportion, or 462,384 people. Chinese nationals followed them at 21.2 per cent and 385,848 people and Filipinos at 11.3 per cent and 206,050 people.

In the wake of the labour shortage, a new high of 298,790 workplaces reportedly employed foreign workers; an increase of 4.8 per cent. Businesses with fewer than 30 workers were the most likely to hire foreign staff, accounting for 61.4 per cent of employers.

By residency status, holders of specialist and engineer visas increased 21.7 per cent to 479,949 people. Working holders of visas such as permanent residents and spouses of Japanese nationals were up 2.6 per cent to 595,207 people.

Among the decreases was a reported 2.4 per cent fall in technical interns to 343,254 people, the second consecutive year of lower numbers. Intake to the controversial program, which offers laborers from specific countries work in exchange for skill development, was temporarily impeded by Japan's strict pandemic border controls.

Geographically, Tokyo was home to the greatest number of foreign workers with 500,089 people, followed by central Japan's Aichi Prefecture with 188,691 and Osaka Prefecture in the country's west with 124,570 people.

In Japan, there were a record 1.82 million foreign workers as of the end of October 2022. The 5.5 per cent rise from the year before was primarily caused by labour shortages as well as foreign students and permanent residents finding employment, Kyodo News reports.

However, while the government data continues demonstrating a string of consecutive new annual highs recorded since 2013, the year-on-year increase was far below the 13.6 per cent rise in 2019; a result of the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

In response to the data, a labour ministry official reportedly stated that growth has dulled since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

Of the 1,822,725 foreigners in Japan's workforce, Vietnamese nationals accounted for 25.4 per cent, the most significant proportion, or 462,384 people. Chinese nationals followed them at 21.2 per cent and 385,848 people and Filipinos at 11.3 per cent and 206,050 people.

In the wake of the labour shortage, a new high of 298,790 workplaces reportedly employed foreign workers; an increase of 4.8 per cent. Businesses with fewer than 30 workers were the most likely to hire foreign staff, accounting for 61.4 per cent of employers.

By residency status, holders of specialist and engineer visas increased 21.7 per cent to 479,949 people. Working holders of visas such as permanent residents and spouses of Japanese nationals were up 2.6 per cent to 595,207 people.

Among the decreases was a reported 2.4 per cent fall in technical interns to 343,254 people, the second consecutive year of lower numbers. Intake to the controversial program, which offers laborers from specific countries work in exchange for skill development, was temporarily impeded by Japan's strict pandemic border controls.

Geographically, Tokyo was home to the greatest number of foreign workers with 500,089 people, followed by central Japan's Aichi Prefecture with 188,691 and Osaka Prefecture in the country's west with 124,570 people.