Record 3.4 million foreign residents living in Japan as work visas rise

There were 79,113 foreign nationals who overstayed their visas in Japan as of Jan. 1, 2024, an increase of 8,622 compared to the year before. Vietnamese made up the largest group at approximately 15,000.

Ok but I would really like to see the stats on the rest of the visa overstayers. Where are all the rest from?

The actual number is, by 2040 Japan really needs to have more than 5 million foreign worker.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/02/03/national/foreign-workers-japan/

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followed by Vietnamese at around 565,000 

Requirement to became cheap labor in Japan, anyone who's in good health and 18-year-old or older.

Unlike engineers, specialists in humanities and international services, including foreign language teachers that require university degree.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/ca/fna/ssw/us/introduction/

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There were 79,113 foreign nationals who overstayed their visas in Japan as of Jan. 1, 2024, an increase of 8,622 compared to the year before. Vietnamese made up the largest group at approximately 15,000.

They get violence and bully with low pay, while their visa won't let them easy to change company. From their point of view it just make sense if they just runaway from their job.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231026/p2a/00m/0na/018000c

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/01/7d056dd0f1df-vietnamese-trainee-in-japan-demands-apology-for-2-years-of-abuse.html

The specified skilled workers visa, which allows the holder to immediately take on jobs in designated industries without the need for training, was introduced in 2019 in response to Japan's severe labor shortage resulting from its declining birthrate, with the aim of attracting foreign workers.

Speak the truth and say there is no labor shortage, just a strong desire of entrenched capital to have rock-bottom wage labor and the LDP bureaucracy to have labor paying the full suite of regressive taxation.

Anecdotal, but I have met quite a few trainees and students in these non-living wage jobs who despite scrimping and saving in every way possible still have to choose at the end of the month between rent, food or paying the residence and pension taxes and with increasing pressure putting their visas in jeopardy.

This is a definition of poverty trap and working poor.

Ok but I would really like to see the stats on the rest of the visa overstayers. Where are all the rest from?

Top 5 using early, 2023 data

Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, China, Philippines.

https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001407638.pdf

Japanese Immigration officials cannot read English and approve all visas even though the same reference letters have been submitted hundreds of times.

Be REALLY nice to have you show some proof about this statement. I know for a fact, leastwise in the immigration office I use, they ALL read English better than the average Japanese, and it really doesnt matter because the documents have to be submitted in Japanese anyway!

Your statement rates at 4 Pinocchio's!

Wow. When I arrived in Japan in 1972, there were 57,473 gaijin. 735,371 total, minus 629,809 Koreans and 48,089 Chinese, most of them on special permanent visas. Source: Ministry of Justice.

It is a pity Japan is turning like UAE where most foreigners are just cheap laborr, if not on slave watch.

Money is not happiness.

Truly a race to the bottom these days in Japan.

With the yen this cheap these newcomers must be super desperate. All the smart westerners I know fled during or after the coronavirus border closure.

Number foreign nationals about exactly 3M ending 2022 and 3.3M ending March 2023. Immigration thus greatly slowed from April if ending Dec 2020 just over 3.4M.

Wonder why?

Yen 151 to $, major immigration recruitment issue for Japan?

Something tells me there's a big undercount taking place, as Japanese Govt. likely trying not to alarm its rapidly aging and shrinking population of the need to maintain the economy.

By nationality, Chinese accounted for the largest population of foreign residents at around 821,000,

So, almost a million sleeper cells and potential terrorists should the ccp order them to be activated.

The Japanese govt should seriously consider replacing them with Nepalese, Bhutanese, Taiwanese, Thai, Indians, Indonesians, etc.

Tell us more about these sleeper cells, @Wesley

The majority of Chinese and Koreans are people born in Japan.

Between 1920 and 1930, the number of Koreans in Japan increased over tenfold to 419,000.

The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans (在日韓国・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankoku/Chōsenjin), often known simply as Zainichi (在日).

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese are from families born here.

All the smart westerners I know fled during or after the coronavirus border closure.

The ever increasing number of western tourists in Japan and their almost universally favourable impression suggests the country must still have something going for it.

My Asian friend adopted the Japanese citizenship. I don't see any difference in the way people around her see her. Except when her White boyfriend is with her.

To the new comers, think in the long term if Japan is best for you!

Speak the truth and say there is no labor shortage, just a strong desire of entrenched capital to have rock-bottom wage labor and the LDP bureaucracy to have labor paying the full suite of regressive taxation.

Now that winter is pretty much over, there will be a huge labour shortage starting very soon in Noto where thousands of collapsed, or more likely demolished, houses will have to be cleared up and sorted by hand into different gomi categories. It won't be Japanese people doing it.

I don't see any difference in the way people around her see her.

Is this good or bad?

Interesting the language usage. Workers v immigrants. I guess in the political world workers can be sent home but immigrants can causes sense of panic in the main native Japanese population because they come with a sense of permanency, settlement.

I don’t think they are solving a working problem, they’re solving a demographic problem. Again a subtle way of hinting at a temporary solution, instead of it being a permanent solution to a problem that was ignored for 50 years.

And at the same time review process duration for permanent resident visa went from 2 months in average to more than a year.

Get the local governments to do a recruitment push at overnight internet cafes where

many who are down on their luck try to eke out a life.