Photo credit: Kyodo News
The number of foreign workers in Japan has hit a record high for the 12th straight year.
The Japan Times reports that it reflects severe labour shortages in the country.
The number of foreign workers as of October last year totalled 2,302,587.
By nationality, Vietnamese workers were the largest group with 570,708 people, followed by Chinese workers who numbered 408,805. Workers from Myanmar and Indonesia logged the fastest rates of increase, up to 61% and 39.5% respectively.
The number of manufacturing workers of foreign nationalities increased 8.3% to 598,314 making up 26% of all foreign workers, while that of service sector workers grew 10.5% to 354,418. Foreign workers in the medical and welfare sector increased most, up to 28.1%.
The number of foreign workers in Tokyo stood at 585,791, accounting for 25.4% of the total. The increase in foreign workers was largest in Nagasaki Prefecture at 28.1%, followed by Hokkaido at 23.8% and Fukui Prefecture at 22.5%
