Ethnic groups of Japan

Among the several native ethnic groups of Japan, the predominant group are the Yamato Japanese, who trace their origins back to the Yayoi period and have held political dominance since the Asuka period. Other historical ethnic groups have included the Ainu, the Ryukyuan people, the Emishi, and the Hayato; some of whom were dispersed or absorbed by other groups. Ethnic groups that inhabited the Japanese islands during prehistory include the Jomon people and lesser-known Paleolithic groups. In more recent history, a number of immigrants from other countries have made their home in Japan. According to census statistics in 2018, 97.8% of the population of Japan are Japanese, with the remainder being foreign nationals residing in Japan.^[1] The number of foreign workers has been increasing dramatically in recent years, due to the aging population and the lack of labor force. A news article in 2018 states that approximately 1 out of 10 young people residing in Tokyo are foreign nationals.^[2]

About 2.3% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign citizens. Of these, according to 2020 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows.^[4][5][6]

Country region groups	Number	Percentage of
		Foreign citizens	Total population
South Asians	255,168	8.8%	0.20%
Southeast Asians	1,304,765	45.2%	1.0%
Other East Asians	1,301,610	45.1%	1.0%
Europeans/North Americans	84,916	2.9%	0.05%
South Americans	256,794	8.8%	0.20%
Others (African, West Asian, etc.)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total (as of 2022)	2,887,116	100%	2.3%

Nationality	Number	Percentage of
		Foreign citizens	Total population
China	778,112	32.3%	0.73%
South Korea + North Korea[note 1]	454,122	17.7%	0.40%
Vietnam	448,053	15.5%	0.28%
Philippines	279,660	13.0%	0.23%
Brazil	208,538	7.5%	0.17%
Nepal	139,393	4.8%	0.11%
Indonesia	66,832	2.1%	0.04%
Taiwan	55,872	2.2%	0.05%
United States	55,761	2.1%	0.04%
Thailand	53,379	1.9%	0.04%
Peru	48,256	1.8%	0.04%
India	40,752	1.4%	0.03%
Myanmar	35,049	1.0%	0.02%
Sri Lanka	34,966	1.2%	0.02%
Bangladesh	20,954	0.7%	0.02%
Pakistan	19,103	0.7%	0.02%
United Kingdom	16,891	0.7%	0.02%
Cambodia	16,659	0.5%	0.01%
Mongolia	13,504	0.5%	0.01%
France	12,264	0.5%	0.01%
Others	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total (as of 2022)	3,839,031	100%	2.3%

The above statistics do not include the approximately 30,000 U.S. military stationed in Japan, nor do they account for illegal immigrants. The statistics also do not take into account minority groups who are Japanese citizens such as the Ainu (an aboriginal people primarily living in Hokkaido), the Ryukyuans (from the Ryukyu Islands south of mainland Japan), naturalized citizens from backgrounds including but not limited to Korean and Chinese, and citizen descendants of immigrants. The total legal resident population of 2012 is estimated at 127.6 million.

After the demise of the multi-ethnic Empire of Japan in 1945, successive governments had forged a single Japanese identity by advocating monoculturalism and denying the existence of more than one ethnic group in Japan.^[7] It was not until 2019 when the Japanese parliament passed an act to recognize the Ainu people to be indigenous.^[8][9] However, the notion of ethnic homogeneity was so ingrained in Japan, to which the former Prime Minister Taro Aso (1940-), in 2020, notably claimed in an election campaign speech that “No other country but this one has lasted for as long as 2,000 years with one language, one ethnic group and one dynasty”.^[7]

Pioneering remarks about ethnic rights was first made by Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo on 20 May 2008, who stated at the parliament, "We acknowledge the Ainu to be an ethnic minority as it has maintained a unique cultural identity and having a unique language and religion."^[10]

Historical minorities:

• Ainu people
• Ryukyuan people
• Chuka-kei people
• Zainichi Koreans

Modern minorities:

• Brazilians in Japan
• Indians in Japan
• Britons in Japan
• Filipinos in Japan
• French people in Japan
• Peruvians in Japan
• Russians in Japan
• Thais in Japan
• Vietnamese people in Japan

The Ainu people (also Aynu) are an indigenous people native to Hokkaido and northeastern Honshu, as well as the nearby Russian Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (both formerly part of the Japanese Empire), and Kamchatka Peninsula. They possess a language distinct from modern Japanese. They traditionally practiced tattooing and followed religious beliefs that are considered animism.^{[citation needed]}

The Ōbeikei Islanders are an ethnic group native to the Bonin Islands (also called the Ogasawara Islands), part of Tokyo Prefecture. They are descendants of Japanese, Europeans, White Americans, Polynesians and Micronesians who settled Hahajima and Chichijima in the 18th century. They speak a dialect of English, called Bonin English, and have traditionally practiced Christianity. Legal status of Bonin Islanders passed back and forth between the United States and Japan over the years and, during and after World War II, many Bonin Islanders were forced to leave their homes. Some emigrated to the United States, finding it easier to assimilate into an English-speaking Western culture than a Japanese-speaking Asian one. Today, roughly 200 Bonin Islanders remain in Japan, some still bearing the surnames of the original 18th-century settlers.

The Yamato people are the dominant native ethnic group of Japan and because of their numbers, the term Yamato is often used interchangeably with the term Japanese.

The Ryukyuan people (also Lewchewan) are an indigenous people native to the Ryukyu Islands. There are different subgroups of the Ryukyuan ethnic group, the Okinawan, Amami, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni peoples. Their languages comprise the Ryukyuan languages,^[11] one of the two branches of the Japonic language family (the other being Japanese and its dialects).^[12] The Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some matriarchal elements, native religion, and cuisine which had fairly late (12th century) introduction of rice.

Chinese people in Japan are the largest foreign minorities in Japan. They comprise 0.64% of Japan's population. Chinese people are mostly concentrated in the Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama areas.

Koreans in Japan are the fifth largest ethnic minorities in the country. Most of them arrived in the early 20th century.

As of 2024, there are 411,043 Koreans in Japan who are not Japanese citizens.^[13]

A small number of Nivkh people resettled in Hokkaido when Japan evacuated southern Sakhalin at the end of World War II.

South Asians in Japan live mostly in Tokyo.^[14]

Indians in Japan consist of migrants from India to Japan and their descendants. As of June 2022, there were 40,752 Indian nationals living in Japan. Indians in Japan are primarily employed in the information technology industry and other office jobs where English language is used.

Filipinos in Japan formed a population of 202,592 individuals at year-end 2007, making them Japan's third-largest foreign community along with Brazilians, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice. In 2006, Japanese/Filipino marriages were the most frequent of all international marriages in Japan.^[15] As of March 12, 2011, the Filipino population of Japan was 305,972.^[16] As of April 1, 2020, the number of Filipinos in Japan is estimated at 325,000.^[17]

448,053 Vietnamese people were living in Japan by the end of 2020.

There is a significant community of Brazilians in Japan, which is home to the second largest Brazilian community outside of Brazil. They also constitute the largest number of Portuguese speakers in Asia, even greater than those of formerly Portuguese East Timor, Macao and Goa combined. Likewise, Brazil maintains its status as home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.

Like Brazilians in Japan, there are Peruvians in the country, some of whom had migrated to Peru when the country opened its doors to foreign workers. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is one example of a Peruvian Japanese.

• Ethnic nationalism in Japan