At the end of 2025, the number of foreign residents reached a record high of 4.12 million. By status of residence, the number of 'Specified Skilled Workers,' who are accepted into industries facing labor shortages, has increased. The food service industry is approaching its sector-specific cap and has suspended new entries, raising concerns about the worsening labor shortage.

This is a continuation of the August 20, 2025 blog post'Status of residence for foreigners to work in Japan requires academic background, expertise, and high Japanese language proficiency, demanding significant effort. The number of "highly skilled foreign professionals" with "status of residence in professional and technical fields" is increasing rapidly.'.

On March 27, 2026, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan announced the number of 'foreign residents' as of the end of 2025. Foreign residents do not include short-term visitors staying for 3 months or less, such as inbound tourists who entered Japan for business trips or temporary travel.

Please look at the top chart. In the one year since the end of 2024, the number increased by 350,000, exceeding 4 million for the first time and reaching a record high of 4.12 million.

Please look at the second chart from the top, Figure 2 on the left. By nationality, China has the highest number at 930,000, followed by Vietnam at 680,000, South Korea at 400,000, the Philippines at 350,000, and Nepal at 300,000.

Please look at the second chart from the top, Figure 3 on the right. This shows foreign residents by status of residence. 'Permanent Residents' are the most numerous at 940,000, followed by those with expertise in 'Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services' at 470,000, 'Student' at 460,000, 'Technical Intern Training' for the purpose of technology transfer at 450,000, and 'Specified Skilled Worker' for accepting workers in industries with labor shortages at 390,000. Note that the 'Technical Intern Training' system is slated for abolition and will transition to the new 'Training and Employment' system starting in April 2027.

Please look at the third chart. It compares the actual number of foreign residents by status of residence to see which categories are increasing. The blue bars for 'Specified Skilled Worker,' which began in 2019 and has been in place for 6 years, show a notable increase.

Please look at the fourth chart. It shows the year-on-year change in the total number of foreign residents. Over the past four years since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a continuous increase of around 10%. Looking at the contribution to this year-on-year change, it is clear that the blue 'Specified Skilled Worker' category is growing significantly each year and driving the overall increase.

'Specified Skilled Worker' is a system that allows the employment of foreigners with a certain level of expertise and skills in fields recognized by the government as having labor shortages. The competent ministries for each field calculate the number of workers still needed after efforts to improve productivity and secure domestic human resources have been made, and set a cap. The total cap is 820,000.

Since the total number of 'Specified Skilled Workers' at the end of 2025 is 390,000, there is still a considerable gap, but in fact, caps are set by sector. The sector most likely to reach its cap is the 'food service industry,' with a cap of 53,000. The preliminary figure for the food service industry as of February 2026 is 46,000. In response to this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan announced that they would suspend acceptance for the food service industry on April 13, as it was expected to reach the 53,000 cap. It appears that applications for status of residence in the food service industry submitted on or after April 13 will be denied. New entries from overseas, changes from other statuses of residence to the food service industry, and changes from other specified skilled worker sectors to the food service industry have been suspended.

In April 2022, the number of foreign residents in the 'Industrial Machinery Manufacturing Industry' also exceeded its cap, leading to a suspension of new entries. In that case, acceptance was resumed in two months by merging it with two other sectors that had room under their caps.

The suspension of new entries in the food service industry, which has now reached its cap, follows that precedent. Sector-specific cap management is being tightened. Looking at the food service industry, we often see foreign staff working as cooks or waiters. From now on, we will no longer be able to rely on foreigners to the same extent. There is concern that the labor shortage in the food service industry will become even more serious.