According to Nikkei Asia on October 9, Japan’s latest census recorded 609,238 Vietnamese nationals living in the country, an increase of 59% compared with the 2020 census.

With this growth, Vietnamese nationals have overtaken South Koreans to become Japan’s second-largest foreign community. Vietnamese people now account for 15.9% of all foreign nationals living in the country.

According to Ayumi Minamida of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, the number of Vietnamese nationals granted residence status for professional work has been increasing. This group includes engineers, specialists in humanities-related fields such as accounting, human resources and business, as well as people engaged in internationally oriented professional work.

Vietnamese cultural festival in Japan in 2026. (Photo: VGP)

While the Vietnamese community has grown rapidly, the number of South Koreans in Japan fell by 8.3% over five years to 398,495. This community is also showing clear signs of ageing. The proportion of people aged 65 and over rose by 2.7 percentage points to 30.6%, higher than the 29.4% recorded for Japan’s total population.

Overall, Japan currently has approximately 3.84 million foreign residents, accounting for 3.1% of the population. Both the number and proportion of foreign residents have reached their highest levels on record. Chinese nationals remain the largest foreign community, with 923,013 people, an increase of 18% compared with 2020.

The number of people from several other Southeast Asian countries has also risen sharply. The Myanmar community grew nearly sixfold over five years to 163,132, while the number of Indonesians increased approximately fourfold to 226,290. Most people from these two countries fall within the working-age group of 15 to 64.

The growing Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian communities are contributing to significant changes in the composition of Japan’s foreign population, as the country faces an ageing population and demand for workers across various sectors.

Although the number of foreign residents continues to rise, their share of Japan’s population remains low compared with many other developed economies. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Japan is currently the only member of the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised economies where foreign residents account for less than 10% of the population.

Vibrant Vietnamese Community Football Tournament Held in Chubu Region (Japan) The tournament was organized by the Viet Nam-Japan International Exchange Organization (FAVIJA), under the patronage of the Embassy of Viet Nam in Japan and the Government of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Vietnamese Community Makes Positive Contributions to Host Society On October 3, Tomio Okamura, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, led a delegation to visit the Sapa Trade Center in Prague, where he met with representatives of the Vietnamese community, business owners, and small traders to learn about their lives, business activities, and integration into the host country. Okamura highly commended the Vietnamese community's work ethic, commitment to integration, and contributions to the host country's socio-economic life.