Foreign workers in Japan more than quadruple in labor-starved areas

Japan immigration

Farming, fishing and construction increasingly rely on immigrant employment

The number of immigrant workers in Japan’s health care and welfare services has grown eightfold over a decade. (Photo by Akitoshi Sugiura)

HATSUKI SATO

August 15, 2025 01:17 JST

TOKYO — The number of foreign-born workers has more than quadrupled in seven Japanese prefectures compared with a decade ago, underscoring how prominent immigrants have become in supporting understaffed small-town economies.