Table 2 Changes in the number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan by status of residence

(People)

Year Status of Residence	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Total	7,711,828	6,119,394	7,919,726	5,448,009	7,549,998
Diplomat	12,029	10,183	11,167	9,678	10,977
Official	24,358	22,229	27,000	19,563	26,991
Professor	2,456	2,639	2,639	2,420	2,595
Artist	222	226	256	221	281
Religious Activities	828	771	713	737	737
Journalist	226	170	136	59	51
Investor/Business Manager	919	857	896	838	820
Legal/Accounting Services	2	4	3	4	4
Medical Services	1	6	2	7	9
Researcher	563	592	528	423	438
Instructor	2,930	2,499	2,339	2,540	2,312
Engineer	9,212	3,363	2,852	4,178	5,216
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	5,690	4,167	4,113	4,658	4,993
Intra-company Transferee	7,307	5,245	5,826	5,348	6,126
Entertainer	34,994	31,170	28,612	26,112	34,969
Skilled Labor	6,799	5,384	3,588	4,178	4,910
Technical Intern Training 1-(a)	2,282	5,178	5,876
Technical Intern Training 1-(b)	23,720	60,847	62,039
Technical Intern Training 2-(a)	-	-	4
Technical Intern Training 2-(b)	-	227	49
Cultural Activities	3,378	3,557	3,159	2,729	3,104
Temporary Visitor	7,367,277	5,822,719	7,632,536	5,180,961	7,246,072
College Student	58,116	66,149	63,478	49,936	57,579
Trainee	101,879	80,480	51,725	16,079	17,957
Dependent	22,167	20,540	19,486	18,165	20,653
Designated Activities	8,413	9,863	11,972	12,954	12,659
Spouse or Child of Japanese National	19,975	14,951	11,452	10,766	10,855
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident	1,964	1,684	1,068	1,392	1,877
Long-Term Resident	20,123	9,946	8,178	7,811	9,845
Temporary Refuge	-	-	-	10

$ ^{*1} $ The statuses of residence “Technical Intern Training 1-(a),” “Technical Intern Training 1-(b),” “Technical Intern Training 2-(a)” and “Technical Intern Training 2-(b)” were newly established on July 1, 2010.

$ ^{*2} $ Newly-arrived foreign nationals with the status of “Technical Intern Training (2)” for their alien registration are generally not permitted to land in Japan since they do not satisfy the requirements for foreign nationals who land in Japan, provided for in Article 7(1) of the Immigration Control Act. However, those with said status who left Japan during the training period without gaining permission for re-entry due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are allowed to re-enter Japan, as a special measure introduced in April 2011, according to the special permission for landing provided for in Article 12 of the Immigration Control Act, for the purpose of sustaining their training activities.

(*3) From 2007 to June 30, 2010, the figure for “College Student” shows the total of “College Student” and “Pre-college Student,” because the item “Pre-college Student” was integrated into “College Student” on July 1, 2012.

$ ^{*4} $ Temporary refugee was excluded, because a decision was made to include it in the number of cases of special landing permission from 2012 onwards.

The number of foreign nationals newly entering Japan may be considered a “flow” showing the flow of foreign nationals to Japan. In contrast, the number of foreign residents in Japan as mentioned below represents a “stock”, which shows the number of foreign nationals staying in Japan at a certain point in time.