Foreign Workers in Japan Mark Record High for 12 Years in Row

Tokyo, Jan. 31 (Jiji Press)--The number of foreign workers in Japan has hit a record high for the 12th straight year, reflecting severe labor shortages in the country, labor ministry data showed Friday. 
 

Foreign workers totaled 2,302,587 as of the end of October last year, growing 12.4 pct from a year before.
 

By nationality, Vietnamese workers was the largest group with 570,708 people, up 10.1 pct, followed by Chinese workers who numbered 408,805, up 2.7 pct. Workers from Myanmar and Indonesia logged the fastest rates of increase, up 61.0 pct and 39.5 pct, respectively.
 

The number of manufacturing workers of foreign nationalities increased 8.3 pct to 598,314, making up 26.0 pct of all foreign workers, while that of service sector workers grew 10.5 pct to 354,418. Foreign workers in the medical and welfare sector increased most, up 28.1 pct.
 

Workers with visa statuses for specialized and technical fields made up the largest group of foreign workers as they numbered 718,812, up 20.6 pct.
 

The number of foreign workers in Tokyo stood at 585,791, accounting for 25.4 pct of the total. The increase in foreign workers was largest in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, at 28.1 pct, followed by Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, at 23.8 pct and Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, at 22.5 pct.
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