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

## Section 1 Number of Foreign Residents in Japan

### 1. Number of Foreign Residents in Japan

While the number of foreign nationals entering Japan shows the “flow” of foreign nationals, the number of foreign nationals residing in Japan comprises the statistics on “stock” to show how many foreign nationals reside in Japan at a certain point in time.

At the end of 2016, the number of mid to long-term residents (see Data Section 1, Section 4, Subsection 1) in Japan was 2,043,872 and the number of special permanent residents was 338,950. Adding these two numbers together, the total number of foreign residents was 2,382,822, an increase of 150,633 (6.7%) compared to the end of 2015.

In addition, the percentage of foreign nationals residing in Japan was 1.88% out of the total population of Japan which was 126,930,000 as of the end of 2016 (population estimate as of October 1, 2016 (Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)), which was 0.12 points higher than the 1.76% at the end of 2015 (Reference 18).

Reference 18 Changes in the number of foreign residents, and changes in the number of foreign residents as a percentage of the total population of Japan

$ ^{*1} $ These numbers are based on the statistics as at the end of December each year.

$ ^{*2} $ The numbers until 1985 represent the number of alien registrations, the numbers between 1990 and 2011 represent the sum of the number of alien registrations who stayed in Japan with the status of residence eligible for mid to long-term residents and the number of special permanent residents, and the numbers from 2012 onwards represent the number of foreign residents adding together mid to long-term residents and special permanent residents.

$ ^{*3} $ The “percentage of the total population of Japan” is calculated based on the population as of October 1 each year taken from the “Population Estimates” and the “Population Census” of the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

### 2. Number of Foreign Residents by Nationality/Region

According to the statistics of the number of foreign residents by nationality/region at the end of 2016, China marked the largest number at 695,522, accounting for 29.2% of the total. China was followed by R.O.Korea at 453,096 (19.0%), the Philippines at 243,662 (10.2%), Viet Nam
at 199,990 (8.4%), and Brazil at 180,923 (7.6%).

According to the changes in the number of foreign residents by year, the number of foreign residents from China has been on an upward trend, with an increase of 29,675 (4.5%) at the end of 2016 when compared to the end of 2015. The number of foreign residents from R.O.Korea has been declining with a decrease of 4,676 (1.0%) at the end of 2016 compared to the end of 2015. In addition, the number of persons from the Philippines increased by 14,067 (6.1%) at the end of 2016 compared to the end of 2015, Vietnam has been on an upward trend since the end of 2010, and increased significantly by 53,034 (36.1%) at the end of 2016 compared to the end of 2015. In addition, Brazil had continued its decreasing trend since it peaked at the end of 2007, but it increased by 7,486 (4.3%) at the end of 2016 compared to the end of 2015 (Reference 19).

Reference 19 Changes in the number of foreign residents by major nationality/region

$ ^{*1} $ The numbers until 2011 represent the number of foreign nationals with alien registrations who stayed in Japan with a status of residence eligible for mid to long-term residents and the number of special permanent residents, and the numbers from 2012 onwards represent the number of foreign nationals adding together mid to long-term residents and special permanent residents.

$ ^{*2} $ “China” until 2011 includes Taiwan, and “China” from 2012 onwards excludes those who were issued with residence cards and special permanent resident certificates with “Taiwan” listed in the “nationality/region” box.

$ ^{*3} $ Up until the end of 2011, R.O.Korea and Korea used to be calculated jointly as “Korea”, but from the end of 2012, they are calculated separately as “R.O.Korea” and “Korea”, for the purpose of the statistics.
### 3. Number of Foreign Residents by Purpose (Status of Residence)

(1) “Permanent Resident” and “Special Permanent Resident” (Data Section 4, Statistics (1) 11)

According to the statistics for the number of foreign residents by status of residence at the end of 2016, those with the status of “Permanent Resident” (excluding “Special Permanent Residents”) comprised the largest group. The number of those with the status of “Permanent Resident” was 727,111, an increase of 26,611 (3.8%) from the end of 2015, accounting for 30.5% of the total (Reference 20).

Reference 20 Changes in the number of foreign residents by status

(people)

Year	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Status	2,033,656	2,066,445	2,121,831	2,232,189	2,382,822
Mid to long-term resident	Professor	7,787	7,735	7,565	7,651
Artist	438	432	409	433
Religious Activities	4,051	4,570	4,528	4,397
Journalist	223	219	225	231
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(a)	297
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(b)	1,144
Highly-Skilled Professional (i)-(c)	51
Highly-Skilled Professional (ii)	16
Business Manager	12,609	13,439	15,184	18,109
Legal/Accounting Services	159	149	143	142
Medical Services	412	534	695	1,015
Researcher	1,970	1,910	1,841	1,644
Instructor	10,121	10,076	10,141	10,670
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services	137,706
Engineer	42,273	43,038	45,892
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	69,721	72,319	76,902
Intra-company Transferee	14,867	15,218	15,378	15,465
Entertainer	1,646	1,662	1,967	1,869
Skilled Labor	33,863	33,425	33,374	37,202
Technical Intern Training (i)-(a)	4,121	3,683	4,371	4,815
Technical Intern Training (i)-(b)	59,160	57,997	73,145	87,070
Technical Intern Training (ii)-(a)	2,869	2,788	2,553	2,684
Technical Intern Training (ii)-(b)	85,327	90,738	87,557	98,086
Cultural Activities	2,320	2,379	2,614	2,582
Student	180,919	193,073	214,525	246,679
Trainee	1,804	1,501	1,427	1,521
Dependent	120,693	122,155	125,992	133,589
Designated Activities	20,159	22,673	28,001	37,175
Permanent Resident	624,501	655,315	677,019	700,500
Spouse or Child of Japanese National	162,332	151,156	145,312	140,349
Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident	22,946	24,649	27,066	28,939
Long-Term Resident	165,001	160,391	159,596	161,532
Special Permanent Resident	381,364	373,221	358,409	348,626	338,950

(*1) The status of residence of "Highly-Skilled Professional (i)–(a), (i)–(b), (i)–(c), (ii)" were newly established from April 1, 2015.

(*2) In accordance with the amendment Act, from April 1, 2015, the status of residence of "Investor/Business Manager" was changed to "Business Manager" and the statuses of residence of "Engineer" and "Specialist in Humanities/International Services" were combined into "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services".
Looking at changes in the number of foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Permanent Resident” between the end of 2012 and the end of 2016, there was a steady increase, and the number increased by 102,610 (16.4%) at the end of 2016 from 624,501 at the end of 2012.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Permanent Resident” came from China totaling 238,438 at the end of 2016, followed by the Philippines, Brazil, R.O.Korea, and Peru.

On the other hand, the number of foreign nationals with the status of “Special Permanent Resident” which used to account for the largest percentage until 2006 has been decreasing year by year, and therefore its percentage to the total number of foreign residents has also been decreasing accordingly. Looking at the changes over a longer period, the percentage of foreign nationals equivalent to the status of “Special Permanent Resident” accounted for approximately 90% for two decades just after World War II. However, the decline in the number of “Special Permanent Residents” itself and the increase in the number of foreign nationals newly visiting Japan for various purposes (so-called “newcomers”) are both driving the percentage of “Special Permanent Residents” down, which clearly shows the changes in the situation of foreign residents in Japan.

## (2) Foreign Nationals Residing in Japan for the Purpose of Employment in Professional or Technical Fields

At the end of 2016, the number of mid to long-term residents with a status of residence for the purpose of employment in a professional or technical field (except for “Diplomat”, “Official” and “Technical Intern Training” out of the statuses of residence given in Appended Table I (1) and (2) of the Immigration Control Act) was 271,288 accounting for 11.4% of the total, an increase of 33,246 (14.0%) compared to the end of 2015, and an upward trend has been continuing since 2012 (Reference 21).
Reference 21 Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents by status of residence for employment in professional or technical fields

(*1) Excludes “Diplomat”, “Official” and “Technical Intern Training” of the Appended Tables I (1) and I (2) of Immigration Control Act.

(*2) In accordance with the amendment Act, from April 1, 2015, the status of residence of “Investor/Business Manager” was changed to “Business Manager” and the statuses of residence of “Engineer” and “Specialist in Humanities/International Services” were combined into “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services”.

$ ^{*3} $ For the years from 2012 to 2014, the numbers for “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” are the number combining “Engineer” and “Specialist in Humanities/International Services” respectively.

$ ^{*4} $ Please note that incorrect figures were given as shown below for the figures of “Total number” and “Others” of FY2015 for the table of “Changes in the number of mid to long-term residents based on the status of residence for the purpose of employment in specialized and technical fields” published in the 2016 edition.

(Correct figures) 2015: Total number: 238,042. Others: 18,890

(Incorrect figures) 2015: Total number: 236,534. Others: 17,382
At the end of 2016, the number of mid to long-term residents with the status of residence of "Long-Term Resident" was 168,830 accounting for 7.1% of the total number of foreign residents, and looking at the changes from the end of 2012 to the end of 2016, although there was a declining trend until the end of 2014, it began to increase from the end of 2015, and increased by 7,298 (4.5%) from the end of 2015 compared to the end of 2016.

Looking at these numbers by nationality/region, Brazil accounts for 49,542 (29.3%), followed by the Philippines at 47,663 (28.2%) and China at 27,140 (16.1%).

## Section 2 Examination of Statuses of Residence

The total number of applications related to residence examinations was 1,042,879 in 2016, an increase of 88,973 (9.3%) when compared to 2015 (Reference 22).

Reference 22 Changes in the number of permission examined in status of residence examinations

Year	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Division
Total	999,184	834,024	867,760	953,906	1,042,879
Permission for change of status of residence	124,192	135,289	142,700	159,235	180,480
Permission for extension of period of stay	407,570	426,016	443,703	487,440	532,800
Permission for permanent residence	42,029	45,066	35,697	39,726	35,595
Permission for special permanent residence	147	113	103	94	84
Permission for acquisition of status of residence	8,235	8,724	9,866	9,862	12,010
Re-entry permission	270,091	54,182	48,225	37,835	31,553
Permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted by the status of residence previously granted	146,920	164,634	187,466	219,714	250,357

(*1) “Permission for permanent residence” is the permission provided for in Article 22 of the Immigration Control Act.
Residence examination counter

### 1. Permission for Change in the Status of Residence

In 2016, the number of cases in which obtained permission for a change in the status of residence was 180,480, an increase of 21,245 (13.3%) when compared to 2015.

## (1) Change of Status of Residence from the Status of Residence of "Student" to a Status for Employment Purposes

Foreign nationals studying at Japanese universities or vocational/technical schools have the status of residence of “Student”. Not a few of them wish to stay in Japan to work for a company or some other organization in Japan even after finishing their studies at school.

The number of foreign nationals who were granted permission to change their status of residence to a status of residence for the purpose of employment was 19,435 in 2016, an increase of 3,778 (24.1%) when compared to 2015.

The number of these foreign nationals had been steadily increased between 2003 and 2008. Thought the number reached a peak in 2008, it started to decline owing to the impact of the global recession. However, the number subsequently started seeing signs of recovery with a record high reached in 2016.

According to the statistics by status of residence, the number of foreign nationals who obtained permission to change their status to that of “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” made up the largest number, totaling 17,353 (89.3%), an increase of 3,562 (25.8%) when compared to 2015 (Reference 23).
Reference 23 Changes in the number of foreign nationals of permission for change of the status of residence from student, etc. to a status for employment by status of residence

Year Status of Residence	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	10,969	11,647	12,958	15,657	19,435
Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services	13,791	17,353
Specialist in Humanities/International Services	7,565	7,962	8,758
Engineer	2,227	2,428	2,748
Business Manager	356	321	383	682	916
Professor	588	634	704	684	598
Medical Services	29	90	114	234	257
Researcher	119	107	124	102	87
Instructor	41	51	59	73	87
Highly-Skilled Professional	17	27
Religious Activities	9	16	8	20	14
Artist	3	4	6	18	3
Official	10	1	5	3	2
Others	22	33	49	33	91

(*) In accordance with an amendment of the Act, the statuses of residence of "Engineer" and "Specialist in Humanities/International Services" were revised and combined into "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" on April 1, 2015.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of foreign nationals who obtained permission to change their status to that of “Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services” was from China at 11,039, accounting for 56.8%, followed by Viet Nam at 2,488 (12.8%) and R.O.Korea at 1,422 (7.3%) (Reference 24).

Reference 24 Changes in the number of foreign nationals of permission for change of the status of residence from student, etc. to a status for employment by nationality/region

(People)

YearNationality/Region	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	10,969	11,647	12,958	15,657	19,435
China	7,032	7,637	8,347	9,847	11,039
Viet Nam	302	424	611	1,153	2,488
R.O.Korea	1,417	1,227	1,234	1,288	1,422
Nepal	224	293	278	503	1,167
Taiwan	352	360	514	649	689
Thailand	170	167	171	200	238
Indonesia	107	111	124	147	214
Myanmar	106	122	129	160	183
Sri Lanka	91	95	87	121	177
Philippines	42	41	65	126	168
Others	1,126	1,170	1,398	1,463	1,650

$ ^{*} $ “China” does not include Taiwan, China (Hong Kong) or China (others).
## (2) Permission to Change Status of Residence in Order to Participate in "Technical Intern Training (ii)"

The Technical Intern Training Program was established in 1993 to enable foreign nationals to acquire skills etc. through on-the-job training while in employment, thereby contributing to effective technology transfer and human resources development as part of Japan’s international contributions.

The Technical Intern Training Program is being transferred to a new system pursuant to the “Act on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of Technical Intern Trainees” (Act No. 89 of 2016; hereinafter referred to as “Technical Intern Training Act”), which came into effect on November 1, 2017, and with regard to the old program prior to the enforcement of the Technical Intern Training Act, as under the current system, permission to change the status of residence of “Technical Intern Training (ii)” is required when engaging in work requiring the skills, etc. already acquired through “Technical Intern Training (i)” to increase proficiency in the skills, etc.

The skills, etc. in the “Technical Intern Training (ii)” are ones that are publicly evaluated in Japan and also meet demand in the countries sending the trainees. As of September 29, 2017, there are 77 types of work in total comprising 55 types, including formwork and machining, which are publicly evaluated based on Basic Grade 1 and Basic Grade 2 of the National Trade Skills Test, and 22 types, including welding and operation of spinning machines, which are publicly evaluated, although not by national examinations, but according to a system certified by the Counselor for Overseas Human Resources Development of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The number of foreign trainees who were permitted to change their status of residence to “Technical Intern Training (ii)” in 2016 had increased by 13,280 (21.5%) from 2015 to 75,089. In total, more than 760,000 foreign trainees have gone on to this training as of the end of 2016 since the Technical Intern Training Program was first established in 1993.

According to the statistics by nationality/region, the largest number of trainees who obtained permission to change their status of residence to “Technical Intern Training (ii)” in 2016 came from Viet Nam at 28,457 (37.9%), followed by China at 27,180 (36.2%), the Philippines at 7,705 (10.3%), Indonesia at 6,069 (8.1%), and Thailand at 2,025 (2.7%). According to the statistics by occupation, the largest number of trainees was in the area of welding, followed by women/children’s apparel production, and crop farming (References 25, 26).

Reference 25 Changes in the number of trainees who changed to “Technical Intern Training (ii)” by nationality/region

YearNationality/Region	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	48,752	48,792	49,536	61,809	75,089
Viet Nam	5,520	5,861	8,664	16,968	28,457
China	36,448	35,463	31,822	31,055	27,180
Philippines	2,550	2,937	3,380	5,216	7,705
Indonesia	2,689	2,979	3,440	4,997	6,069
Thailand	913	925	1,411	1,741	2,025
Others	632	627	819	1,832	3,653

$ ^{*} $ “China” does not include Taiwan, China (Hong Kong) or China (others).
Reference 26 Changes in the number of trainees who changed to “Technical Intern Training (ii)” by occupation

(People)

Year	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Occupation
Total	48,752	48,792	49,536	61,809	75,089
Welding	4,053	3,824	3,951	6,224	7,403
Women/Children's apparel production	8,095	8,141	7,349	7,292	7,305
Crop farming	4,998	5,510	5,537	6,325	7,077
Plastic molding	3,255	3,135	3,330	4,073	4,459
Steeplejack	866	994	1,274	2,073	3,263
Machining	2,526	2,245	2,310	2,929	3,250
Unheated fishery processing products manufacturing	2,271	2,540	2,406	2,792	2,910
Electronics assembly	2,310	1,884	1,294	2,056	2,809
Painting	1,379	1,297	1,357	1,808	2,386
Metal press work	1,928	1,759	1,685	2,140	2,297
Heated fishery processing products manufacturing	1,650	1,840	1,862	2,122	2,290
Steel reinforcement construction	812	856	1,128	1,640	2,116
Mold construction	532	739	886	1,451	2,105
Livestock agriculture	1,143	1,231	1,268	1,460	1,710
Prepared food industry	0	0	0	71	1,655
Others	12,934	12,797	13,899	17,353	22,054

### 2. Permission for Extension of the Period of Stay

The number of cases in which obtained permission for extension of their period of stay in 2016 was 532,800, an increase of 45,360 (9.3%) from 2015.

### 3. Permission for Permanent Residence

The number of cases in which were granted permission for permanent residence in 2016 was 35,595. This number has been fluctuating after reaching a record high of 60,509 in 2007, with a decrease of 4,131 (10.4%) in 2016 when compared to 2015 (Reference 27).
Reference 27 Changes in the number of cases of permission for permanent residence by nationality/region

(Cases)

YearNationality/Region	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	42,029	45,066	35,697	39,726	35,595
China	17,471	19,799	15,670	16,635	15,285
Philippines	7,373	6,385	4,769	5,455	4,795
Brazil	4,867	4,572	4,030	4,822	3,866
R.O.Korea/Korea	2,902	3,378	2,697
R.O.Korea	2,978	2,731
Viet Nam	876	1,068	926	967	994
Others	8,540	9,864	7,605	8,869	7,924

(*1) The number for “China” is the number including China (Hong Kong), China (others), and excluding those who have already received residence cards with “Taiwan” in the nationality/region section.

$ ^{*2} $ From 2015, “R.O.Korea” and “Korea” are calculated separately.

$ ^{*3} $ This table does not include the number of permits for special permanent residence.

### 4. Permission for Acquisition of a Status of Residence

The number of cases in which were granted permission for acquisition of a status of residence in 2016 was 12,010, an increase of 2,148 (21.8%) when compared to 2015.

### 5. Re-entry Permission

The number of cases in which were granted re-entry permission in 2016 was 31,553, marking a decrease of 6,282 (16.6%) when compared to 2015.

The number of foreign nationals who were granted re-entry permission has been declining since reaching a peak in 2011, but this decline is due to the fact that, owing to the implementation of the system of special re-entry permission in accordance with the amended Immigration Control Act, which entered into force in July 2012, a foreign national in possession of a valid passport and residence card who intends, at the time of departure, to re-enter Japan to continue with his or her activities in Japan within one year of his or her departure (within two years for special permanent residents) is not required, in principle, to obtain re-entry permission.

In addition, the number of foreign nationals who departed from Japan having obtained special re-entry permission in 2016, was 2,208,626 accounting for 94.5% of the total number of 2,086,717 foreign nationals who departed from Japan through re-entry permission.

### 6. Permission to Engage in an Activity Other Than Those Permitted by the Status of Residence Previously Granted

The number of cases in which obtained permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted by the status of residence previously granted in 2016 was 250,357, an increase of 30,643 (13.9%) from 2015.