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Country profile

Koreans in Japan

Total residents (2025)
407,341
Total Population of South Korea: ~52 million
Growth (past 10 years)
-11.0%
457,772 in 2015 → 407,341 in 2025

Top visa types (2025)

Special Permanent resident
241,712
Permanent resident
77,013
Engineer / Humanities
28,457
Student
14,523
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The Average Korean Resident

Male profile

The average Korean male in Japan is a special permanent resident in his early fifties, living in Tokyo.

Modal age50–54
Top visaSpecial Permanent resident (62.1%)
2nd visaPermanent resident (13.0%)
Population189,541 (46.5%)
Female profile

The average Korean female in Japan is a special permanent resident in her 80+, living in Tokyo.

Modal age80+
Top visaSpecial Permanent resident (57.0%)
2nd visaPermanent resident (24.0%)
Population217,800 (53.5%)

Population over time

Total Korean residents

Annual figures — the only top-10 nationality in steady decline · Korea-only data from 2015 onward (earlier years combined North & South) · hover for details
0150,000300,000450,000600,00020062008201020122014201620182020202220242025North + South Korea combinedSouth Korea only
0 125,000 250,000 375,000 500,000 1995 2000 2008 2015 2020 2024
Special Permanent resident Permanent resident Engineer / Humanities Student Spouse of Japanese Others

Visa Types

What do these visa types mean? →

Status of residence (2025)

Current snapshot
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 Special Permanent resident Special Permanent resident: 241,712 241,712 Permanent resident Permanent resident: 77,013 77,013 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 28,457 28,457 Student Student: 14,523 14,523 Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese: 12,118 12,118 Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent: 8,646 8,646 Long-term resident Long-term resident: 7,183 7,183 Designated activities Designated activities: 6,231 6,231 Business manager Business manager: 2,728 2,728 Spouse of PR Spouse of PR: 2,123 2,123 Intra-company transferee Intra-company transferee: 1,533 1,533 High-skilled professional High-skilled professional: 1,234 1,234
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 Special Permanent resident Special Permanent resident 2015: 311,463 311,463 241,712 (2025) Permanent resident Permanent resident 2015: 66,326 Permanent resident 2025: 77,013 66,326 77,013 (2025) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2015: 16,669 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2025: 28,457 16,669 28,457 (2025) Student Student 2015: 15,405 15,405 14,523 (2025) Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese 2015: 14,334 14,334 12,118 (2025) Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent 2015: 12,470 12,470 8,646 (2025) Long-term resident Long-term resident 2015: 7,413 7,413 7,183 (2025) Designated activities Designated activities 2015: 3,051 Designated activities 2025: 6,231 3,051 6,231 (2025) Business manager Business manager 2015: 2,928 2,928 2,728 (2025) Spouse of PR Spouse of PR 2015: 2,262 2,262 2,123 (2025)
Where Korea is heavier than rest of world Where Korea is lighter (or absent) Special Permanent resident Korean: 59.3% 59.3% Rest of world: 0.7% 0.7% Religion Korean: 0.2% 0.2% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Entertainer Korean: 0.1% 0.1% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Journalist Korean: 0.0% 0.0% Rest of world: 0.0% 0.0% Specified Skilled Worker Korean: 0.1% 0.1% Rest of world: 10.5% 10.5% Student Korean: 3.6% 3.6% Rest of world: 12.1% 12.1% Family stay / Dependent Korean: 2.1% 2.1% Rest of world: 9.3% 9.3% Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Korean: 7.0% 7.0% Rest of world: 12.0% 12.0% Permanent resident Korean: 18.9% 18.9% Rest of world: 23.4% 23.4% Long-term resident Korean: 1.8% 1.8% Rest of world: 5.9% 5.9% Designated activities Korean: 1.5% 1.5% Rest of world: 3.2% 3.2% Skilled labour Korean: 0.1% 0.1% Rest of world: 1.5% 1.5%

Demographics

Age distribution

All Korean residents — five-year age brackets, December 2025
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 0–4: 3,310 3,310 0–4 5–9: 5,182 5,182 5–9 10–14: 6,904 6,904 10–14 15–19: 8,846 8,846 15–19 20–24: 19,069 19.1k 20–24 25–29: 26,681 26.7k 25–29 30–34: 25,123 25.1k 30–34 35–39: 24,547 24.5k 35–39 40–44: 29,183 29.2k 40–44 45–49: 30,909 30.9k 45–49 50–54: 35,513 35.5k 50–54 55–59: 34,070 34.1k 55–59 60–64: 33,311 33.3k 60–64 65–69: 31,706 31.7k 65–69 70–74: 30,076 30.1k 70–74 75–79: 26,555 26.6k 75–79 80+: 36,356 36.4k 80+
MALE 男性 FEMALE 女性 0–4 1,738 1,572 5–9 2,616 2,566 10–14 3,557 3,347 15–19 4,325 4,521 20–24 8,683 10.4k 25–29 15.2k 11.4k 30–34 14.9k 10.2k 35–39 13.6k 10.9k 40–44 15k 14.2k 45–49 15.2k 15.7k 50–54 16.9k 18.6k 55–59 15.4k 18.6k 60–64 14.4k 19k 65–69 12.5k 19.2k 70–74 12.4k 17.7k 75–79 11.3k 15.2k 80+ 11.8k 24.6k

Gender split

December 2025
Male: 189,541 (46.5%) Female: 217,800 (53.5%) 407,341 total
Male
189,541 (46.5%)
Female
217,800 (53.5%)

The Korean community is older and slightly female-majority — a profile shaped by the multi-generational Zainichi population. Nearly 60% hold Special Permanent Resident status, and the over-60s far outnumber children, a sign of a long-settled community gradually declining in number.

Special Permanent resident: 124,094 (57.0%) Permanent resident: 52,368 (24.0%) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 10,866 (5.0%) Student: 6,314 (2.9%) Spouse of Japanese: 6,038 (2.8%) Family stay / Dependent: 5,878 (2.7%) Long-term resident: 4,980 (2.3%) Designated activities: 3,252 (1.5%) Spouse of PR: 1,343 (0.6%) Business manager: 743 (0.3%) High-skilled professional: 397 (0.2%) Professor: 371 (0.2%) Religion: 262 (0.1%) Other: 894 (0.4%) Total female 217,800
217,800 female Korean residents — by status of residence
Special Permanent resident124,094
Permanent resident52,368
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services10,866
Student6,314
Spouse of Japanese6,038
Family stay / Dependent5,878
Long-term resident4,980
Designated activities3,252
Spouse of PR1,343
Business manager743
High-skilled professional397
Professor371
Religion262
Other894
Special Permanent resident: 117,618 (62.1%) Permanent resident: 24,645 (13.0%) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 17,591 (9.3%) Student: 8,209 (4.3%) Spouse of Japanese: 6,080 (3.2%) Designated activities: 2,979 (1.6%) Family stay / Dependent: 2,768 (1.5%) Long-term resident: 2,203 (1.2%) Business manager: 1,985 (1.0%) Intra-company transferee: 1,340 (0.7%) High-skilled professional: 837 (0.4%) Spouse of PR: 780 (0.4%) Religion: 591 (0.3%) Other: 1,915 (1.0%) Total male 189,541
189,541 male Korean residents — by status of residence
Special Permanent resident117,618
Permanent resident24,645
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services17,591
Student8,209
Spouse of Japanese6,080
Designated activities2,979
Family stay / Dependent2,768
Long-term resident2,203
Business manager1,985
Intra-company transferee1,340
High-skilled professional837
Spouse of PR780
Religion591
Other1,915
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 2010 2015 2020 2025 Female 217,800 Male 189,541

Where they live (2025)

By region — heat map

Hover or tap a region to see its breakdown.
Hokkaido Hokkaido 1.2% 1.2% Tohoku Tohoku 1.8% 1.8% Kanto Kanto 2,621 2,621 Chubu Chubu 10.5% 10.5% Kansai Kansai 37.4% 37.4% Chugoku Chugoku 3.9% 3.9% Shikoku Shikoku 0.6% 0.6% Kyushu Kyushu 4.9% 4.9%
Fewer
More
Selected region
Kanto
39.3%
160,790 residents
Top Visa Categories
Prefectures
Tokyo
93,466
Kanagawa
27,572
Chiba
15,760
Saitama
15,720
Ibaraki
4,056
Tochigi
2,202
Gunma
2,014

Highest and Lowest Prefectures

Share of all Korean residents in Japan (2025)
Top 10
Tokyo
Kanto
22.9%
Osaka
Kansai
21.1%
Hyogo
Kansai
8.3%
Kanagawa
Kanto
6.7%
Aichi
Chubu
6.3%
Kyoto
Kansai
4.9%
Chiba
Kanto
3.9%
Saitama
Kanto
3.9%
Fukuoka
Kyushu
3.6%
Hiroshima
Chugoku
1.5%
Bottom 10
Tokushima
Shikoku
0.1%
Kochi
Shikoku
0.1%
Akita
Tohoku
0.1%
Kagoshima
Kyushu
0.1%
Miyazaki
Kyushu
0.1%
Shimane
Chugoku
0.1%
Saga
Kyushu
0.1%
Iwate
Tohoku
0.2%
Aomori
Tohoku
0.2%
Tottori
Chugoku
0.2%

Prefecture Growth, 2015 to 2025

Percentage change in Korean residents over the past decade · hover a row for real numbers
Fastest growth
Okinawa
Okinawa
+57%
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
+17%
Kumamoto
Kyushu
+14%
Tokyo
Kanto
+4%
Chiba
Kanto
+3%
Slowest growth
Yamaguchi
Chugoku
-25%
Fukui
Chubu
-25%
Kochi
Shikoku
-25%
Shimane
Chugoku
-24%
Oita
Kyushu
-24%
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 2010 2015 2020 2025 Tokyo Osaka Hyogo Kanagawa Aichi Kyoto Chiba Saitama

Fun Fact

Korea is the only top-10 nationality whose numbers are falling. The century-old Zainichi community — now 4th and 5th generation — gradually shrinks through naturalisation and intermarriage, even as a new K-wave generation of students and professionals arrives.
Interested to know more about migration numbers in Japan?
Explore Overview →Immigration statistics for the whole of Japan — 4.13 million foreign residentsAll Nationalities/Regions →This page is one of 67 — explore every major community in Japan
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