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Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services

Status of residence · Japan

Residents, December 2025
475,790
Share of all foreign residents
11.5%
Change on a year earlier
+13.6%
Nationalities
179
Residents475,790Dec 2025
Year by year
Data as at Dec 2025
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Residents by year

Foreign residents holding the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status of residence at the end of each December. Work requiring technology or knowledge in the natural sciences or humanities, or thinking and sensitivity rooted in a foreign culture, under contract with an organisation in Japan (before 2015: separate Engineer and Specialist in Humanities/International Services statuses).

Foreign residents

238k476k201220132014201520162017201820192022202320242025
238k476k2012201420162018202220242025
Data table
2012111,994
2013115,357
2014122,794
2015137,706
2016161,124
2017189,273
2018225,724
2019271,999
2022311,961
2023362,346
2024418,706
2025475,790
December 2025
475,790
December 2012
111,994
Work-related status
Yes
Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Statistics on Foreign Residents (在留外国人統計), Table 1, end of December (e-Stat; Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use 2.0)Data as at Dec 2025

By nationality

Top 20 nationalities, end of December 2025. Hong Kong is shown separately but, as in the source table, is also counted within China.

Residents, December 2025
  1. Vietnam121,079
  2. China117,314
  3. Nepal48,813
  4. South Korea28,457
  5. Sri Lanka20,461
  6. Myanmar17,167
  7. Taiwan16,847
  8. India14,567
  9. Philippines11,485
  10. Indonesia10,424
  11. United States9,100
  12. Bangladesh8,719
  13. Pakistan7,860
  14. Mongolia4,452
  15. United Kingdom3,615
  16. Thailand3,576
  17. France3,419
  18. Hong Kong3,347
  19. Malaysia2,914
  20. Russia2,181
Nationality2022202320242025
Vietnam77,99793,391108,334121,079
China82,50292,141103,622117,314
Nepal25,72732,86240,48948,813
South Korea23,08324,12526,18028,457
Sri Lanka9,89012,22316,16320,461
Myanmar8,13810,51114,00017,167
Taiwan12,60213,83215,51316,847
India10,10412,17713,61914,567
Philippines8,6559,63210,55211,485
Indonesia5,1956,6758,37110,424
United States8,1048,4168,7649,100
Bangladesh4,2195,6206,9168,719
Pakistan3,5114,6535,9877,860
Mongolia2,7173,4334,1014,452
United Kingdom3,1763,3503,5533,615
Thailand2,5382,8843,3133,576
France2,7782,9543,1813,419
Hong Kong02,4882,6063,347
Malaysia2,3462,5652,7312,914
Russia1,5111,7722,0142,181
Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Statistics on Foreign Residents (在留外国人統計), Table 1, end of December (e-Stat; Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use 2.0)Data as at Dec 2025

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more