Editing Demographics of Japan (section)

==== Foreign residents as of 2021 ====
The number of foreign residents of Japan reached a high of 2.93 million in 2019 before falling to 2.76 million at the end of 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001370057.pdf|publisher=Immigration Services Agency of Japan|title=令和３年末現在における在留外国人数について|access-date=27 September 2022|archive-date=24 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824104344/https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001370057.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The number of foreign workers was 1.46 million in 2018, 29.7% are in the manufacturing sector; 389,000 are from Vietnam and 316,000 are from China.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan immigration hits record high as foreign talent fills gaps|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-immigration-hits-record-high-as-foreign-talent-fills-gaps|website= Nikkei Asian Review |access-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701222627/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-immigration-hits-record-high-as-foreign-talent-fills-gaps|archive-date=1 July 2019}}</ref>

On April 1, 2019, Japan's revised immigration law was enacted. The revision clarifies and better protects the rights of foreign workers. Japan formally accepts foreign blue-collar workers. This helps reduce labour shortage in certain sectors of the economy. The reform changes the status of foreign workers to regular employees and they can obtain permanent residence status. The reform includes a new visa status called {{Nihongo|''tokutei gino''|特定技能|"designated skills"|}}. In order to qualify, applicants must pass a language and skills test (level N4 or higher of the [[Japanese-Language Proficiency Test]]). In the old "Technical Trainee programme" a foreign employee was tied to their employer. This caused numerous cases of exploitation. The revision gives foreign workers more freedom to leave and change their employer.<ref>{{cite web |title=New immigration rules to stir up Japan's regional rentals scene — if they work |work=REthink Tokyo - Real Estate Information for Buyers and Investors |url=https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2019/03/27/new-immigration-visa-rules-japan-foreign-workers |publisher= REthink Tokyo |date=27 March 2019|access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702124120/https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2019/03/27/new-immigration-visa-rules-japan-foreign-workers |archive-date=2 July 2019 |author1=Adriana }}</ref><gallery mode="packed" caption="Japanese nationality data mapped in prefectures in 2020">
File:Percentage of Japan who is of Japanese nationality.svg|Japanese nationality (96.3% total)
File:Percentage of Japan who is of Foreign nationality in 2020.svg|Foreign nationality (1.9% total){{refn|The proportion of foreign nationals is most likely higher due to those that did not declare a nationality. The Statistics of Foreign Residents estimated that there was a total of 2,887,116 (2.3% of the total population) foreign nationals in December 2020, while in the 2020 census carried out in October enumerated 2,402,460 foreign nationals.|group="t"}}
File:Percentage of Japan who had No nationality stated in 2020.svg|No nationality stated (1.7% total)
</gallery>
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