Economy Foreign workforce in Japan quadruples in regions facing labour shortages

[thomas]

Over the past decade, the number of foreign-born workers has risen more than fourfold in seven Japanese prefectures, highlighting their growing role in sustaining labour-short rural economies. Miyazaki Prefecture in western Japan recorded the steepest growth among all 47 prefectures, with numbers climbing by about 360% between 2014 and 2024, according to a Nikkei analysis of government figures. The proportion of foreign workers there rose from one in 294 in 2014 to one in 63 last year.

Kumamoto and Wakayama, also in western Japan, along with Aomori in the north, followed closely behind. Kagoshima, neighbouring Miyazaki, likewise saw foreign worker numbers more than quadruple, as did Okinawa and Fukushima in northern Japan. In Miyazaki and Aomori, much of the increase came from employment in agriculture and fishing.

Foreign workers are now essential participants at every link in the supply chain, from harvesting crops to processing and shipping goods to customer service and retail. By industry, construction had the biggest jump in immigrant workers, a more than ninefold increase. In health care and welfare services, which includes care providers in nursing homes, the number grew by a factor of eight from a decade earlier. The fishing industry had a more than sixfold rise in immigrant workers. Across all industries, foreign workers nearly tripled from 2014 to 2024. The accommodations and food service industry had the highest share of foreign workers, at one in 15 people. Foreign workers made up one in 17 people employed in manufacturing. Tokyo had the highest proportion of foreign workers, at one in 14 people. Many universities and Japanese language schools are concentrated in the capital, and it is believed that many international students also work part-time. Aichi and Gunma had the next largest shares of foreign workers at one in 18 people. Both prefectures are home to large populations of Brazilians of Japanese descent.

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Foreign workers in Japan more than quadruple in labor-starved areas

Farming, fishing and construction increasingly rely on immigrant employment

asia.nikkei.com

Japanese economists welcome the increase in foreign labourers:

A joint survey by the Japan Centre for Economic Research (JCER) and the Nikkei daily found that roughly three-quarters of economists believed that a rise in the number of foreign residents brings overall benefits to Japanese citizens. The poll, conducted between 18 and 28 July among about 50 prominent Japanese economists and published on 30 July, came as policies concerning foreign residents became a central topic ahead of the Upper House election on 20 July.

One respondent, Kyoto University associate professor Makoto Hasegawa, was reported as saying that if Japan provided an environment where language, cultural and customary barriers could be overcome, for example, through better education for foreign exchange students, it would allow foreign workers to make full use of their skills. This, he suggested, would help ease labour shortages, boost productivity, and ultimately raise the standard of living for Japanese people.

Welcoming foreign residents benefits Japan, three quarters of economists say

Some highlighted the need to avoid conflating foreign nationals who may be in Japan temporarily with long-term foreign residents.

www.japantimes.co.jp