132 cities, wards, towns and villages have more than 5% of foreigners, expanding 2.5 times in 5 years to rural areas - National Census

According to the 2025 Census (confirmed figures) released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there are now 132 municipalities nationwide where the proportion of foreigners in the population exceeds 5%, an increase of 2.5 times from 53 five years ago. It has become clear that foreigners are increasingly living in rural areas, where tourism and agriculture are popular, as well as in large cities and manufacturing centers.

Total population decreased by 2.5% to 122.97 million people, record high of 3.84 million foreigners - 2025 Census

The foreign population in Japan is the highest ever at approximately 3.84 million people, accounting for 3.1% of the total population. The number has increased by 40% from the previous 2020 survey (approximately 2.74 million people).

The number of prefectures with local governments where the foreign population exceeds 5% has increased from 17 in the previous survey to 27, with the addition of Miyagi and Hyogo. In the previous survey, it was noticeable in large cities and areas with thriving manufacturing industries, but in 2025 it spread to resort areas and areas whose main industries are agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and Hokkaido's number rapidly increased from 5 to 22 towns and villages. The reason for this appears to be an increase in foreign employment due to a serious labor shortage.

Kawakami Village in Nagano Prefecture had the highest percentage of foreigners at 26.5%. Foreign workers support the cultivation of specialty products such as lettuce, which ranked first for the second time in 2020 (19.0%). In Shimukappu Village, Hokkaido, the rate was 21.7%, almost double from the previous time. A village official said, ``The opening of resort facilities in 2017 triggered a growing movement to hire foreigners in order to accommodate foreign guests.'' There were 21 municipalities where the percentage of foreign residents exceeded 10%, and four of these exceeded 20%. This is the first time in the national census that more than 20% of local governments have been identified.