TOKYO – The number of foreigners resident in Japan who moved to the Tokyo metropolitan area in 2024 outnumbered those leaving by over 16,000, setting a record-high margin, government data showed Saturday, signaling that the capital is serving as a magnet for younger workers seeking higher pay.
Excluding those who entered or left Japan, 334,659 people — the majority in their 20s — moved across prefectural borders in 2024, accounting for 10.1 percent of foreigners residing in Japan. A decade before, the figure was 145,535, or 7.3 percent of the total.
Those who moved to Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures last year exceeded those who left by 16,506, a more than 13-fold rise from 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report on internal migration by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication.
By prefecture, Tokyo saw the largest net influx at 8,722 people, followed by Saitama at 7,720 and Kanagawa with 7,494 people.
The prefecture that saw the largest net outflow was Chiba with 7,430 people, followed by 6,684 from Aichi in central Japan and 4,471 from Fukuoka in southwestern Japan.
“Young people are moving from rural areas to cities for better pay,” said Yu Korekawa from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, adding that a system allowing skilled foreign workers to change jobs is contributing to the movement as the graying country struggles with labor shortage.
Municipalities that see large numbers of people leave are often seen as a “gateway” into Japan, with foreigners staying for a certain period of time for training before moving on.
“We are currently in a situation where we have no choice but to rely on foreign workers due to the declining Japanese population,” said a municipal official who works at a local government adjacent to the Tokyo metropolitan area, expressing strong concerns over migration in pursuit of higher wages.
AloJapan.com