Migration Statistics Japan Join Mailing List
Country profile

Tongan nationals in Japan

Total residents (2025)
206
Total Population of Tonga: ~105,000
Growth (past 10 years)
+80.7%
114 in 2015 → 206 in 2025

Top visa types (2025)

Student
74
Entertainer
44
Permanent resident
26
Family stay
21
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The Average Tongan Migrant

Male profile

The average Tongan male in Japan is a student in his early twenties, living in Tokyo.

Modal age20–24
Top visaStudent (39.2%)
2nd visaEntertainer (28.8%)
Population153 (74.3%)
Female profile

The average Tongan female in Japan is a dependent family member in her late twenties, living in Tokyo.

Modal age25–29
Top visaFamily stay (28.3%)
2nd visaStudent (26.4%)
Population53 (25.7%)

Population over time

Total Tongan residents

Annual figures, 2006–2025 — hover the line for details
05010015020025020062010201520202025
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 20 40 60 80 Student Student: 74 74 Entertainer Entertainer: 44 44 Permanent resident Permanent resident: 26 26 Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent: 21 21 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 16 16 Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese: 15 15 Designated activities Designated activities: 5 5 Long-term resident Long-term resident: 2 2 Instructor Instructor: 2 2 Trainee Trainee: 1 1
0 20 40 60 80 Student Student 2015: 44 Student 2025: 74 44 74 (2025) Entertainer Entertainer 2015: 1 Entertainer 2025: 44 1 44 (2025) Permanent resident Permanent resident 2015: 22 Permanent resident 2025: 26 22 26 (2025) Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent 2015: 11 Family stay / Dependent 2025: 21 11 21 (2025) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2015: 13 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2025: 16 13 16 (2025) Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese 2015: 10 Spouse of Japanese 2025: 15 10 15 (2025) Designated activities Designated activities 2015: 9 9 5 (2025) Long-term resident Long-term resident 2015: 1 Long-term resident 2025: 2 1 2 (2025) Instructor Instructor 2015: 2 2 2 (2025) Trainee Trainee 2015: 0 Trainee 2025: 1 0 1 (2025)
Where Tonga is heavier than rest of world Where Tonga is lighter (or absent) Student Tongan: 35.9% 35.9% Rest of world: 11.3% 11.3% Entertainer Tongan: 21.4% 21.4% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Family stay / Dependent Tongan: 10.2% 10.2% Rest of world: 8.6% 8.6% Spouse of Japanese Tongan: 7.3% 7.3% Rest of world: 3.7% 3.7% Instructor Tongan: 1.0% 1.0% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Trainee Tongan: 0.5% 0.5% Rest of world: 0.0% 0.0% Permanent resident Tongan: 12.6% 12.6% Rest of world: 23.0% 23.0% Long-term resident Tongan: 1.0% 1.0% Rest of world: 5.5% 5.5% Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Tongan: 7.8% 7.8% Rest of world: 11.5% 11.5% Designated activities Tongan: 2.4% 2.4% Rest of world: 3.0% 3.0%

Demographics

Age distribution

All Tongan residents — five-year age brackets, December 2025
0 20 40 60 0–4: 7 7 0–4 5–9: 3 3 5–9 10–14: 3 3 10–14 15–19: 30 30 15–19 20–24: 46 46 20–24 25–29: 48 48 25–29 30–34: 20 20 30–34 35–39: 16 16 35–39 40–44: 12 12 40–44 45–49: 7 7 45–49 50–54: 3 3 50–54 55–59: 5 5 55–59 60–64: 1 1 60–64 65–69: 2 2 65–69 70–74: 1 1 70–74 75–79: 2 2 75–79 80+: 0 0 80+
MALE 男性 FEMALE 女性 0–4 4 3 5–9 1 2 10–14 1 2 15–19 28 2 20–24 44 2 25–29 36 12 30–34 14 6 35–39 8 8 40–44 5 7 45–49 4 3 50–54 3 0 55–59 2 3 60–64 1 0 65–69 2 0 70–74 0 1 75–79 0 2 80+ 0 0

Gender split

December 2025
Male: 153 (74.3%) Female: 53 (25.7%) 206 total
Male
153 (74.3%)
Female
53 (25.7%)

The Tongan community (206 people, 74% male) is built on two pillars: students (36%) and athletes — 21% hold the Entertainer visa, the category covering professional sportsmen.

Family stay / Dependent: 15 (28.3%) Student: 14 (26.4%) Permanent resident: 10 (18.9%) Spouse of Japanese: 8 (15.1%) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 4 (7.5%) Designated activities: 1 (1.9%) Instructor: 1 (1.9%) Total female 53
53 female Tongan residents — by status of residence
Family stay / Dependent15
Student14
Permanent resident10
Spouse of Japanese8
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services4
Designated activities1
Instructor1
Student: 60 (39.2%) Entertainer: 44 (28.8%) Permanent resident: 16 (10.5%) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 12 (7.8%) Spouse of Japanese: 7 (4.6%) Family stay / Dependent: 6 (3.9%) Designated activities: 4 (2.6%) Long-term resident: 2 (1.3%) Instructor: 1 (0.7%) Trainee: 1 (0.7%) Total male 153
153 male Tongan residents — by status of residence
Student60
Entertainer44
Permanent resident16
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services12
Spouse of Japanese7
Family stay / Dependent6
Designated activities4
Long-term resident2
Instructor1
Trainee1
0 50 100 150 200 2010 2015 2020 2025 Female 53 Male 153

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
26
Kanagawa
Kanto
23
Fukuoka
Kyushu
15
Chiba
Kanto
14
Aichi
Chubu
12
Oita
Kyushu
12
Saitama
Kanto
10
Yamanashi
Chubu
10
Osaka
Kansai
9
Kyoto
Kansai
8
Bottom 10
Saga
Kyushu
1
Nagasaki
Kyushu
1
Ibaraki
Kanto
2
Miyagi
Tohoku
2
Okayama
Chugoku
2
Shizuoka
Chubu
2
Akita
Tohoku
2
Ishikawa
Chubu
2
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
2
Niigata
Chubu
3

Prefecture Growth, 2015 to 2025

Absolute change in Tongan residents over the past decade
Largest increase
Kanagawa
Kanto
+19
Fukuoka
Kyushu
+15
Aichi
Chubu
+9
Yamanashi
Chubu
+9
Tokyo
Kanto
+8
Largest decrease
Nagasaki
Kyushu
-4
Okayama
Chugoku
-3
Gunma
Kanto
-3
Akita
Tohoku
-2
Ishikawa
Chubu
-2
0 10 20 30 2010 2015 2020 2025 Tokyo Kanagawa Fukuoka Chiba Aichi Oita Saitama Yamanashi

Fun Fact

Japan's rugby runs on Tongan power: 1 in 5 Tongans in Japan is here on an athlete's visa, and Tongan-born players have starred for Japan's national team itself. From a nation of 105,000, that's an outsized gift.
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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