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Country profile

South African nationals in Japan

Total residents (2025)
1,826
Total Population of South Africa: ~63 million
Growth (past 10 years)
+164.3%
691 in 2015 → 1,826 in 2025

Top visa types (2025)

Engineer / Humanities
475
Instructor
369
Family stay
203
Permanent resident
183
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The Average South African Migrant

Male profile

The average South African male in Japan is an engineering or international-services professional in his early thirties, living in Tokyo.

Modal age30–34
Top visaEngineer / Humanities (22.7%)
2nd visaInstructor (14.3%)
Population1,011 (55.4%)
Female profile

The average South African female in Japan is an engineering or international-services professional in her late twenties, living in Tokyo.

Modal age25–29
Top visaEngineer / Humanities (30.2%)
2nd visaInstructor (27.5%)
Population815 (44.6%)

Population over time

Total South African residents

Annual figures, 2006–2025 — hover the line for details
05001,0001,5002,00020062010201520202025
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2024
Permanent resident Engineer / Humanities Spouse of Japanese Instructor Student Others

Visa Types

What do these visa types mean? →

Status of residence (2025)

Current snapshot
0 200 400 600 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 475 475 Instructor Instructor: 369 369 Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent: 203 203 Permanent resident Permanent resident: 183 183 Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee: 137 137 Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese: 88 88 Student Student: 72 72 Skilled labour Skilled labour: 68 68 Entertainer Entertainer: 67 67 Designated activities Designated activities: 61 61 Professor Professor: 21 21 Long-term resident Long-term resident: 18 18
0 200 400 600 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2015: 105 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2025: 475 105 475 (2025) Instructor Instructor 2015: 108 Instructor 2025: 369 108 369 (2025) Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent 2015: 86 Family stay / Dependent 2025: 203 86 203 (2025) Permanent resident Permanent resident 2015: 111 Permanent resident 2025: 183 111 183 (2025) Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee 2015: 0 Technical Intern Trainee 2025: 137 0 137 (2025) Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese 2015: 61 Spouse of Japanese 2025: 88 61 88 (2025) Student Student 2015: 66 Student 2025: 72 66 72 (2025) Skilled labour Skilled labour 2015: 15 Skilled labour 2025: 68 15 68 (2025) Entertainer Entertainer 2015: 1 Entertainer 2025: 67 1 67 (2025) Designated activities Designated activities 2015: 68 68 61 (2025)
Where South Africa is heavier than rest of world Where South Africa is lighter (or absent) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services South African: 26.0% 26.0% Rest of world: 11.5% 11.5% Instructor South African: 20.2% 20.2% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Family stay / Dependent South African: 11.1% 11.1% Rest of world: 8.6% 8.6% Spouse of Japanese South African: 4.8% 4.8% Rest of world: 3.7% 3.7% Skilled labour South African: 3.7% 3.7% Rest of world: 1.3% 1.3% Entertainer South African: 3.7% 3.7% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Designated activities South African: 3.3% 3.3% Rest of world: 3.0% 3.0% Professor South African: 1.2% 1.2% Rest of world: 0.2% 0.2% Religion South African: 0.9% 0.9% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Intra-company transferee South African: 0.6% 0.6% Rest of world: 0.5% 0.5% Permanent resident South African: 10.0% 10.0% Rest of world: 23.0% 23.0% Student South African: 3.9% 3.9% Rest of world: 11.3% 11.3% Long-term resident South African: 1.0% 1.0% Rest of world: 5.5% 5.5% Technical Intern Trainee South African: 7.5% 7.5% Rest of world: 11.1% 11.1% Spouse of PR South African: 0.3% 0.3% Rest of world: 1.4% 1.4% Nursing care South African: 0.1% 0.1% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Business manager South African: 0.8% 0.8% Rest of world: 1.1% 1.1% High-skilled professional South African: 0.5% 0.5% Rest of world: 0.8% 0.8%

Demographics

Age distribution

All South African residents — five-year age brackets, December 2025
0 200 400 600 0–4: 56 56 0–4 5–9: 45 45 5–9 10–14: 29 29 10–14 15–19: 30 30 15–19 20–24: 118 118 20–24 25–29: 394 394 25–29 30–34: 441 441 30–34 35–39: 252 252 35–39 40–44: 166 166 40–44 45–49: 98 98 45–49 50–54: 66 66 50–54 55–59: 64 64 55–59 60–64: 29 29 60–64 65–69: 20 20 65–69 70–74: 14 14 70–74 75–79: 4 4 75–79 80+: 0 0 80+
MALE 男性 FEMALE 女性 0–4 30 26 5–9 19 26 10–14 17 12 15–19 17 13 20–24 66 52 25–29 180 214 30–34 242 199 35–39 151 101 40–44 104 62 45–49 63 35 50–54 50 16 55–59 48 16 60–64 14 15 65–69 4 16 70–74 4 10 75–79 2 2 80+ 0 0

Gender split

December 2025
Male: 1,011 (55.4%) Female: 815 (44.6%) 1,826 total
Male
1,011 (55.4%)
Female
815 (44.6%)

The South African community is fairly balanced (55% male) and built on education: professionals (26%) and instructors (20%) top the list — 1 in 5 South Africans here teaches.

Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 246 (30.2%) Instructor: 224 (27.5%) Family stay / Dependent: 124 (15.2%) Permanent resident: 65 (8.0%) Technical Intern Trainee: 36 (4.4%) Student: 28 (3.4%) Spouse of Japanese: 26 (3.2%) Designated activities: 21 (2.6%) Long-term resident: 13 (1.6%) Professor: 11 (1.3%) Religion: 8 (1.0%) Entertainer: 3 (0.4%) Intra-company transferee: 3 (0.4%) Other: 7 (0.9%) Total female 815
815 female South African residents — by status of residence
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services246
Instructor224
Family stay / Dependent124
Permanent resident65
Technical Intern Trainee36
Student28
Spouse of Japanese26
Designated activities21
Long-term resident13
Professor11
Religion8
Entertainer3
Intra-company transferee3
Other7
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 229 (22.7%) Instructor: 145 (14.3%) Permanent resident: 118 (11.7%) Technical Intern Trainee: 101 (10.0%) Family stay / Dependent: 79 (7.8%) Skilled labour: 67 (6.6%) Entertainer: 64 (6.3%) Spouse of Japanese: 62 (6.1%) Student: 44 (4.4%) Designated activities: 40 (4.0%) Business manager: 13 (1.3%) Professor: 10 (1.0%) High-skilled professional: 9 (0.9%) Other: 30 (3.0%) Total male 1,011
1,011 male South African residents — by status of residence
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services229
Instructor145
Permanent resident118
Technical Intern Trainee101
Family stay / Dependent79
Skilled labour67
Entertainer64
Spouse of Japanese62
Student44
Designated activities40
Business manager13
Professor10
High-skilled professional9
Other30
0 500 1,000 1,500 2010 2015 2020 2025 Female 815 Male 1,011

Where they live (2025)

By region — heat map

Hover or tap a region to see its breakdown.
Hokkaido Hokkaido 723 723 Tohoku Tohoku 518 518 Kanto Kanto 2,621 2,621 Chubu Chubu 1,926 1,926 Kansai Kansai 3,189 3,189 Chugoku Chugoku 487 487 Shikoku Shikoku 245 245 Kyushu Kyushu 1,158 1,158
Fewer
More
Selected region
Kanto
11,830
57.6% of Japan total
Top Visa Categories
Prefectures
Tokyo
7,596
Kanagawa
1,948
Chiba
1,018
Saitama
763
Ibaraki
231
Tochigi
138
Gunma
136

Highest and Lowest Prefectures

2025 Resident Counts
Top 10
Tokyo
Kanto
298
Aichi
Chubu
250
Kanagawa
Kanto
158
Chiba
Kanto
109
Osaka
Kansai
109
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
90
Saitama
Kanto
85
Hyogo
Kansai
75
Fukuoka
Kyushu
59
Ibaraki
Kanto
50
Bottom 10
Saga
Kyushu
1
Shimane
Chugoku
2
Wakayama
Kansai
3
Yamaguchi
Chugoku
4
Yamagata
Tohoku
5
Tottori
Chugoku
6
Aomori
Tohoku
6
Ishikawa
Chubu
7
Toyama
Chubu
7
Shiga
Kansai
8

Prefecture Growth, 2015 to 2025

Absolute change in South African residents over the past decade
Largest increase
Aichi
Chubu
+207
Tokyo
Kanto
+123
Kanagawa
Kanto
+103
Osaka
Kansai
+79
Chiba
Kanto
+77
Largest decrease
Miyazaki
Kyushu
-3
Ishikawa
Chubu
-1
Saga
Kyushu
-1
Kochi
Shikoku
+0
Yamaguchi
Chugoku
+1
0 100 200 300 2010 2015 2020 2025 Tokyo Aichi Kanagawa Chiba Osaka Hokkaido Saitama Hyogo

Fun Fact

One in five South Africans in Japan holds an Instructor visa — the English-teaching pipeline in action — and the community spreads unusually evenly nationwide, from Tokyo to Aichi's international schools.
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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