Work in Japan: Foreign Workers Statistics as of October 2018

As of October 2018, there are now 1,460,463 foreigners working in Japan. This is a record high increase of 14.2% (181,793 foreigners) compared the previous year.

Number of foreign workers by Nationality

  • Chinese – 389,117
  • Vietnamese – 316,840
  • Filipino – 164,006
  • Brazil – 127,392
  • Nepali – 81,562
  • G7 / G8 + Australian & New Zealand – 77,505
  • South Korean – 62,516
  • Indonesian – 41,586
  • Peru – 28,686
  • Others – 171,253

Number of foreign workers by Industry

  • Manufacturing – 434,342
  • Wholesale and Retail business – 186,061
  • Accommodations, Restaurant, Drinking business – 185,050
  • Education and Learning – 69,764
  • Construction – 68,604
  • IT and Communications – 57,620
  • Medical and Welfare – 26,086
  • Service Industry (not classified into others) -230,510

Source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/11655000/000472893.pdf

According to the source above, there are only 1,673 Filipinos working for Information and Communications industry related jobs (うち情報通信業).

To be honest, I thought the number foreign workers under IT and Communications industries will be a lot higher since I see a lot of software engineering job posts. I guess there is still a lot of slots here in Japan waiting for my fellow software engineers.

3 thoughts on “Work in Japan: Foreign Workers Statistics as of October 2018”

  1. Hello Rowell,

    I am a software engineer here in the Philippines.
    I want to work there in Japan.
    However, most of the companies require at least can N3 passer in JLPT or if not is already residing in Japan. Can you give me some tips on how can I be able to work there in Japan

    1. Hi Robin,

      I’m not sure if you already read this post but here. Check it out.
      https://thefilipinogaijin.com/2019/05/01/work-in-japan-2019-it-and-software-engineering-jobs/

      Listed on above post are companies that don’t require any kind of Japanese language level.

      Check out Rakuten since they provide visa and relocation support.
      They also have a lot of foreigners working as engineer so you won’t feel lonely too much.
      Disclaimer: I don’t work for Rakuten but I have friends working there.

  2. Yeah, I’ve already read that blog of yours.

    About Rakuten, yeah I also heard about them.
    I’ve read in some other blogs that direct hiring in Japan as Software Engineer is really hard because they have to test your coding ability first before really investing in your relocation and visa. And you have to be exceptionally talented to be hired this way. However, I dont see myself as a exceptionally talented person. I only rely on stackoverflow for the solutions. lol T.T

    BTW, thank you for replying to my comment 😀

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