Foreign residents account for nearly one in ten people in their 20s in Japan
Foreign residents made up 9.5 percent of Japan’s population in their 20s in 2025, more than double the 4.1 percent recorded a decade earlier, according to a Kyodo News analysis of government data, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The share is expected to increase further as the government has submitted a draft plan to an expert panel proposing the acceptance of up to around 426,000 foreign workers over a two-year period starting in fiscal 2027 to address labor shortages.
Data from the Basic Resident Register show that the number of foreign residents in their 20s grew by 680,000 over the past 10 years, reaching 1.22 million by 2025. In contrast, the number of Japanese citizens in the same age group fell by 1.03 million to 11.64 million.
Regionally, Gunma Prefecture recorded the highest proportion of foreign residents in their 20s at 14.1 percent, followed by Gifu and Ibaraki. Nine other prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, also reported shares exceeding 10 percent.
Beyond their expanding role in the labor market, foreign residents are increasingly becoming key contributors to Japan’s social security system. Across all age groups, they accounted for 3.0 percent of the country’s total population in 2025.
As of the end of June 2025, Chinese nationals formed the largest foreign resident group in Japan at approximately 900,000 people, followed by Vietnamese residents at around 660,000.
Earlier, it was reported Takaichi, Trump agree to arrange a summit in the U.S. in spring.
