Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
# Section 2 ☐ Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan

## 1 The Number of Registered Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan

The number of registered foreign nationals residing in Japan, which shows how many foreign nationals live in Japan and their purpose for residing in Japan, indicates the state of the “stock,” while the statistics of foreign nationals on entry and departure from Japan show the “flow” of foreign nationals to and from Japan.

In principle, every foreign national who has entered Japan must apply for registration to the mayor or head of the city, town, or village in which his residence is located, in accordance with the Alien Registration Law (hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Law”), within 90 days of the date of his landing (Article 3 of the Registration Law). However, most foreign nationals who have entered Japan with the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor,” accounting for more than 90% of the total number of foreign entrants, leave Japan without registering. Therefore, the registered number of foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Temporary Visitor” is small, accounting for only 3.4% of the total number of registered foreign nationals as of the end of 2005. As a result, the statistics on the foreign nationals registered in Japan can be considered as the data mainly for foreign nationals who stay in Japan for a relatively long period of time for such purposes as study, employment or cohabitation, living a “settled life” in the local community.

## (1) The Total Number of Registered Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan

A number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan each year remain and live in Japan for a medium or long period of time. As a result, the total number of registered foreign nationals residing in Japan has been increasing and will continue to increase every year. As of the end of 2005, the number of registered foreign nationals hit a new record high of 2,011,555. The number increased by 37,808 (up 1.9%) from the end of 2004, and by 233,093 (up 13.1%) from the end of 2001.

The proportion of registered foreign nationals to the total Japanese population has also been increasing every year. The proportion increased 0.02 percentage point from 1.55% at the end of 2004 and reached a record high of 1.57% in 2005, when the total population of Japan was 127,757,000 (based on the summary sheets in the Population Census conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). (Chart 15)
Chart 15 Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals and its percentage of the total population in Japan

(* 1) “Number of registered foreign nationals” as of December 31 each year.

(* 2) The “Percentage of the total population in Japan” is calculated based on the population as of October 1 every year from “Current Population Estimates as of October 1, 2004” and “Summary Sheets in the Population Census” by the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

## (2) The Number of Registered Foreign Nationals by Region

As of the end of 2005, the number of registered foreign nationals by region was as follows: 1,483,985 from Asia accounting for 73.8% of the total, South America (376,348 accounting for 18.7%), North America (65,029 accounting for 3.2%), Europe (58,351 accounting for 2.9%), Oceania (15,606 accounting for 0.8%), and Africa (10,471 accounting for 0.5%). The foreign nationals from Asia and South America accounted for 92.5% of the total number of registered foreign residents. (Chart 16)

According to the statistics of the number of registered foreign nationals from Asia, the number of Koreans gradually decreased, while the number of Chinese increased dramatically by 31,991 (up 6.6%) from the end of 2004 and by 138,336 (up 36.3%) from the end of 2001.

The region that showed the second highest rate of increase was South America, and the number had increased by 18,137 (up 5.1%) from the end of 2004.

## (3) The Number of Registered Foreign Nationals by Nationality (Place of Origin)

According to the statistics of the number of registered foreign nationals by nationality (place of origin) as of the end of 2005, Korea marked the largest number at 598,687, accounting for 29.8% of the total. This was followed by China (519,561 accounting for 25.8%), Brazil (302,080 accounting for 15.0%), the Philippines (187,261 accounting for 9.3%), and Peru (57,728 accounting for 2.9%).
(*) The number of registered foreign nationals who are “stateless” is not included in this chart.

In recent years, the number of registered foreign nationals from Korea has been gradually decreasing, while the number of those from China, Brazil, and Peru has been continuously increasing. In particular, the number of registered foreign nationals from China significantly increased, rising by 138,336 (up 36.3%) from 381,225 in 2001. The number of registered foreign nationals from the Philippines showed an increasing trend up to the end of 2004.
However, at the end of 2005, it decreased by 12,133 (down 6.1%) from the end of 2004, due to a decrease in the number of Philippine nationals entering Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer.” (Chart 17, Table 11)

According to the statistics of the number of registered foreign nationals by nationality (place of origin), the order of the top five countries remained the same from the end of 2001 to the end of 2005.

Chart 17 Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals by major nationality (place of origin)

Table 11 Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals by nationality (place of origin)

Year Nationality (Place of Origin)	1986	1989	1992	1995	1998	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total	867,237	984,455	1,281,644	1,362,371	1,512,116	1,778,462	1,851,758	1,915,030	1,973,747	2,011,555
Korea	677,959	681,838	688,144	666,376	638,828	632,405	625,422	613,791	607,419	598,687
China	84,397	137,499	195,334	222,991	272,230	381,225	424,282	462,396	487,570	519,561
Brazil	2,135	14,528	147,803	176,440	222,217	265,962	268,332	274,700	286,557	302,080
Philippines	18,897	38,925	62,218	74,297	105,308	156,667	169,359	185,237	199,394	187,261
Peru	553	4,121	31,051	36,269	41,317	50,052	51,772	53,649	55,750	57,728
United States of America	30,695	34,900	42,482	43,198	42,774	46,244	47,970	47,836	48,844	49,390
Thailand	2,981	5,542	10,460	16,035	23,562	31,685	33,736	34,825	36,347	37,703
Viet Nam	4,388	6,316	6,883	9,099	13,505	19,140	21,050	23,853	26,018	28,932
Indonesia	1,839	2,781	5,201	6,956	14,962	20,831	21,671	22,862	23,890	25,097
United Kingdom	7,426	9,272	12,021	12,485	14,762	17,527	18,508	18,230	18,082	17,494
Others	35,967	48,733	80,047	98,225	122,651	156,724	169,656	177,651	183,876	187,622
## (4) The Number of Registered Foreign Nationals by Purpose (Status of Residence)

A. “Permanent Resident” and “Special Permanent Resident” (Data Section 1, Statistics (1) 24, 28)

According to the statistics of the number of registered foreign nationals by status of residence, those with the status of “Special Permanent Resident,” mainly comprised of Korean nationals (see the commentary below), was the largest as of the end of 2005. The number of special permanent residents was 451,909, accounting for 22.5% of the total, a decrease of 13,710 (down 2.9%) from the end of 2004. (Table 12)

Table 12 Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals by status of residence

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total	1,778,462	1,851,758	1,915,030	1,973,747	2,011,555
Professor	7,196	7,751	8,037	8,153	8,406
Artist	381	397	386	401	448
Religious Activities	4,948	4,858	4,732	4,699	4,588
Journalist	348	351	294	292	280
Investor/Business Manager	5,906	5,956	6,135	6,396	6,743
Legal/Accounting Services	99	111	122	125	126
Medical Services	95	114	110	117	146
Researcher	3,141	3,369	2,770	2,548	2,494
Instructor	9,068	9,715	9,390	9,393	9,449
Engineer	19,439	20,717	20,807	23,210	29,044
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	40,861	44,496	44,943	47,682	55,276
Intra-company Transferee	9,913	10,923	10,605	10,993	11,977
Entertainer	55,461	58,359	64,642	64,742	36,376
Skilled Labor	11,927	12,522	12,583	13,373	15,112
Cultural Activities	2,954	2,812	2,615	3,093	2,949
Temporary Visitor	69,741	72,399	74,301	72,446	68,747
College Student	93,614	110,415	125,597	129,873	129,568
Pre-college Student	41,766	47,198	50,473	43,208	28,147
Trainee	38,169	39,067	44,464	54,317	54,107
Dependent	78,847	83,075	81,535	81,919	86,055
Designated Activities	38,990	47,706	55,048	63,310	87,324
Permanent Resident	184,071	223,875	267,011	312,964	349,804
Spouse or Child of Japanese National	280,436	271,719	262,778	257,292	259,656
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident	7,047	7,576	8,519	9,417	11,066
Long Term Resident	244,460	243,451	245,147	250,734	265,639
Special Permanent Resident	500,782	489,900	475,952	465,619	451,909
Without Acquiring Status of Residence	13,488	15,379	16,628	18,236	15,353
Temporary Refuge	32	32	30	31	30
Others	15,282	17,515	19,376	19,164	20,736
The number of special permanent residents decreased every year from the end of 2001 to the end of 2005. On the other hand, that of permanent residents increased by 36,840 (up 11.8%) from the end of 2004 and reached 349,804 as of the end of 2005, accounting for 17.4% of all the registered foreign nationals. The number of permanent residents steadily increased during the period between the end of 2001 and the end of 2005, rising by 165,733 (up 90.0%) at the end of 2005 from 184,071 in 2001. The proportion of permanent residents to the total registered foreign nationals topped 15% for the first time at the end of 2004, compared to 10.4% at the end of 2001.

According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), the largest number of permanent residents came from China. The number of Chinese permanent residents was 106,269 as of the end of 2005, followed by Brazil, the Philippines, North and South Korea and Peru.

## Commentary

## Permanent Residents and Special Permanent Residents

The status of residence of “Permanent Resident” permits permanent residence in Japan. Any foreign national who desires to obtain this status must receive permission for permanent residence from the Minister of Justice through the procedures specified in Article 22 or Article 22-2 of the Immigration Control Act.

The status of “Special Permanent Resident” grants legal status for permanent residence to any foreign national whose Japanese nationality was taken away as the result of the peace treaty concluded with Japan and to those who lived in Japan before the end of the war, as well as the descendants of such foreign nationals (Article 2 of the Special Law on the Immigration Control of Inter Alia, Those Who Have Lost Japanese Nationality on the Basis of the Treaty of Peace with Japan). Those people are not covered by the status of residence of “Permanent Resident.” A provision on the status of “Special Permanent Resident” is included in Paragraph 1 of Article 2-2 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which specifies that, “An alien may reside in Japan only under the status of residence determined by the permission for landing, the acquisition of status of residence or by permission for any change thereof, unless the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act or other laws provide otherwise”. As set forth in this provision, special permanent residents fall under the cases where “other laws provide otherwise”.

### B. Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan for the Purpose of Employment (Data Section 1, Statistics (1) 3-2 through 16-2)

The number of registered foreign nationals residing in Japan for the purpose of employment decreased by 11,659 (down 6.1%) from the end of 2004 to 180,465 as of the end of 2005, accounting for 9.0% of the total. The number saw an increasing trend until the end of 2004, but turned downward at the end of 2005, though it had increased by 11,682 (up 6.9%) compared to the end of 2001. (Chart 18)

Since the end of 2001, there has been a steady increase in the number of registered foreign nationals with such statuses of residence as “Specialist in Humanities/International
Chart 18 Changes in the number of registered foreign nationals by the status of residence for employment

Services,” “Engineer,” “Skilled Labor,” “Professor,” “Investor/Business Manager” and “Legal/Accounting Services.” The number of those with the status of residence of “Entertainer” showed an increasing trend until the end of 2004, but at the end of 2005, it drastically decreased by 28,366 (down 43.8%) from the end of 2004.

The numbers of registered foreign nationals with such statuses of residence as “Engineer,” “Specialist in Humanities/International Services,” or “Intra-company Transferee,” which are basically designed for foreign employees, were 29,044, 55,276 and 11,977, respectively, as of the end of 2005. They increased by 9,605 (up 49.4%), 14,415 (up 35.3%), and 2,064 (up 20.8%) from the end of 2001, respectively.
### C. “College Student” and “Pre-college Student” (Data Section 1, Statistics (1) 19-2, 20-2)

The number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “College Student” stood at 129,568 as of the end of 2005, a slight decrease of 305 (down 0.2%) from the end of 2004. On a nationality (place of origin) basis, the number of Chinese college students was 89,374, accounting for 69.0% of the total, followed by Koreans (16,309 accounting for 12.6%).

On the other hand, the number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Pre-college Student” had been increasing in recent years, but took a downturn as of the end of 2004. The number of such registered foreign nationals was 28,147 as of the end of 2005, a significant decrease of 15,061 (down 34.9%) from the end of 2004. According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), China was 15,915, accounting for 56.5% of the total, followed by Korea (6,397 accounting for 22.7%).

### D. “Trainee” (Data Section 1, Statistics (1) 21-2)

The number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Trainee” was 54,107 as of the end of 2005 and had slightly decreased by 210 (down 0.4%) compared to 2004. However, it remained at a high level following the highest number recorded at the end of 2004. According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), the number of those from China was 40,539, accounting for 74.9% of the total, followed by Indonesia (3,440 accounting for 6.4%) and Viet Nam (3,380 accounting for 6.2%).

### E. Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan with the Status of Residence for Resident Activities Based on Civil Status or Position (Data Section 1, Statistics (1) 25-2 through 27-2)

As of the end of 2005, the numbers of registered foreign nationals with the statuses of residence of “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” and “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” were 259,656 and 11,066, respectively. According to the statistics by nationality, as of the end of 2005, the number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Japanese National” from Brazil was 78,851, accounting for 30.4% of the total, followed by China (54,569 accounting for 21.0%) and the Philippines (45,148 accounting for 17.4%).

On the other hand, the number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” has increased every year from the end of 2001 to the end of 2005, as the number of permanent residents has increased.

The number of registered foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Long Term
Resident” was 265,639 as of the end of 2005. According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), the number of such foreign nationals from Brazil was 153,185, accounting for 57.7%, followed by China (33,086 accounting for 12.5%) and the Philippines (26,811 accounting for 10.1%).

## 2 Status of Residence Examinations

If any foreign national in Japan desires to stay longer than the period of stay originally permitted to him, or desires to change his status of residence in order to pursue a new purpose differing from the purpose for which the original status of residence was granted, he must file an application in accordance with the Immigration Control Act and obtain required permission from the Minister of Justice or the Director-General of the Regional Immigration Bureau. There is such permission for extension of period of stay, change of status of residence, acquisition of status of residence, re-entry, permanent residence, permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted by the status of residence, and so forth. The decision as to whether or not to grant permission is made through the status of residence examination.

The total number of cases of status of residence examinations and so forth in which permission was granted increased by 8,366 (up 0.7%) from 2004 to 1,197,627. (Table 13)

Table13 Changes in the number of cases of permission in status of residence examinations

Year Division	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total	981,657	1,001,051	1,138,753	1,189,261	1,197,627
Permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted by the status of residence previously granted	65,535	83,340	98,006	106,406	100,176
Permission for change of status of residence	69,490	78,402	89,593	100,377	115,287
Permission for extension of period of stay	336,254	354,169	415,021	410,091	418,696
Permission for permanent residence	41,889	42,085	46,171	48,263	39,256
Permission for special permanent residence	185	138	106	126	116
Permission for acquisition of status of residence	7,529	6,815	6,530	6,921	7,215
Re-entry permission	460,775	436,102	483,326	517,077	516,881

(* 1) “Permission for permanent residence” is the permission provided for in Article 22 of the Immigration Control Act.
## (1) Permission for Extension of Period of Stay (Article 21 of the Immigration Control Act)

Any foreign national in Japan who desires to stay longer than the period of stay originally permitted to him without changing his status of residence must obtain permission for an extension of the period of stay.

The number of foreign nationals who obtained such permission in 2005 was 418,696.

Sticker-type

endorsement stamp

for extension permit

## (2) Permission for Change of Status of Residence (Article 20 of the Immigration Control Act)

Any foreign national in Japan who desires to change the status of residence originally permitted to him must obtain permission for a change of status of residence for the new purpose.

In 2005, the number of foreign nationals who obtained such permission was 115,287.

### A. Change of Status of Residence from “College Student” or “Pre-college Student” for Employment

Sticker-type

endorsement stamp

for change permit

The foreign nationals studying at Japanese universities or vocational schools have the status of residence of either “College Student” or “Pre-college Student.” Many of them desire to stay in Japan to work for a Japanese company or some another organization in Japan after graduating from these schools.

The number of foreign nationals who obtained permission for a change of the status of residence has seen an increasing trend on the whole, and it increased by 614 (up 11.7%) from a year earlier, and by 2,297 (up 64.1%) from 2001 to 5,878 in 2005. This marked a record high from 1988, the year when these statistics were compiled for the first time.

According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), the number of foreign nationals who obtained such permission from China was 4,186, accounting for 71.2% of the total, followed by R.O. Korea (747 accounting for 12.7%), and China (Taiwan) (168 accounting for 2.9%). (Table 14)

According to the statistics by status of residence, foreign nationals who obtained permission to change their statuses to “Specialist in Humanities/International Services” represented the largest proportion, totaling 4,159 and accounting for 70.8%. In addition, 1,200 foreign nationals (20.4%) obtained permission to change their status to “Engineer” in 2005. (Table 15)
Table 14 Changes in the number of cases of permission for change of status of residence for employment from college student or pre-college student by nationality (place of origin) (Cas

Nationality (Place of Origin)	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total	3,581	3,209	3,778	5,264	5,858
China	2,154	1,933	2,258	3,445	4,186
R.O. Korea	720	581	721	811	747
China (Taiwan)	135	127	139	179	168
Malaysia	61	43	31	59	69
Viet Nam	19	27	31	53	64
Thailand	29	42	53	60	60
Bangladesh	47	30	66	84	57
Indonesia	39	47	40	59	52
United States of America	23	33	34	40	41
Sri Lanka	28	21	31	25	34
Others	326	325	374	449	380

Table 15 Changes in the number of cases of permission for change of status of residence for employment from college student or pre-college student by status of residence permitted (Ca

Year of Residence	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Total	3,581	3,209	3,778	5,264	5,878
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	2,118	1,949	2,378	3,417	4,159
Engineer	1,008	727	849	1,233	1,200
Professor	228	346	371	388	335
Researcher	118	97	90	114	92
Investor/Business Manager	44	39	38	53	28
Instructor	15	13	10	23	18
Religious Activities	6	—	6	12	12
Medical Services	19	16	14	10	10
Skilled Labor	7	11	5	5	8
Artist	10	8	6	5	4
Entertainer	—	—	—	—	1
Others	8	3	11	4	11

### B. Permission to Change Status of Residence in Order to Participate in a Technical Internship Program

The Technical Internship Program was a system established in 1993 to enable foreign nationals who have acquired certain levels of skills through training to further improve their skills through on-the-job training while employed, thereby contributing to effective technology transfer and human resources development as part of international contributions. It is necessary for any foreign national who desires to be involved in the program to obtain permission for change of status of residence from “Trainee” to “Designated Activities”.

This program covers skills that are publicly evaluated in Japan and also in demand in the home countries of the trainees. These skills were categorized into 62 types of work in total as
of April 1, 2006. 51 types, including form panel setting and machining, are evaluated based on the National Skills Test under the Occupation Skills Development Promotion Law for Basic Grade 1 and Basic Grade 2. The remaining 11 types, including operation of construction equipment and spinning machines, are publicly evaluated, although not by national examinations, according to a system established by the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization. (Table 16)

Shortly after the Technical Internship Program was established, few foreign trainees applied for the program. Since then, we have increased the number of types of work covered by the program. Due to this, the number of trainees exceeded 20,000 in 2003 and reached 32,394 in 2005. The number in 2005 increased by 5,906 (up 22.3%) from a year earlier, and by 16,281 (up 101.0%) from 2001, showing a steady yearly increase during the period from 2001.

Table 17 Changes in the number of trainees who switch to the Technical Internship Program by nationality (People)

Year Nationality	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	Total
Total	16,113	19,225	20,822	26,488	32,394	115,042
China	11,114	14,388	16,620	20,922	26,606	89,650
Indonesia	2,854	2,359	2,060	2,474	2,340	12,087
Viet Nam	1,462	1,694	1,343	2,070	1,791	8,360
Philippines	470	518	653	819	1,219	3,679
Thailand	112	150	110	112	277	761
Others	101	116	36	91	161	505

Table 18 Changes in the number of trainees who switch to the Technical Internship Program by job type (People)

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	Total
Total	16,113	19,225	20,822	26,488	32,394	115,042
Women/Children's apparel production	5,761	7,767	8,076	9,194	9,751	40,549
Mold construction	465	412	437	373	420	2,107
Men's apparel production	826	760	514	527	679	3,306
Welding	589	724	1,148	1,254	1,960	5,675
Steel reinforcement construction	339	289	248	376	376	1,628
Machining	706	690	622	873	1,276	4,167
Metal press work	505	418	499	942	1,194	3,558
Plumbing	61	42	45	27	53	228
Painting	317	285	393	562	713	2,270
Furniture production	170	177	111	147	239	844
Casting	496	430	386	561	695	2,568
Steeplejack	226	224	225	240	361	1,276
Plastic molding	677	789	907	1,691	2,072	6,136
Carpenter	76	116	80	118	179	569
Construction machinery production	24	33	32	49	46	184
Others	4,875	6,069	7,099	9,554	12,380	39,977