Demographic
About 1.6% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign nationals. Of these, according to 2008 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows.
| Nationality | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| China (PRC) / Taiwan (ROC) | 655,377 | 29.6% |
| South Korea / North Korea | 589,239 | 26.6% |
| Brazil | 312,582 | 14.1% |
| Philippines | 310,617 | 14.0% |
| Peru | 59,723 | 2.7% |
| United States | 52,683 | 2.4% |
| Thailand | 42,609 | 1.9% |
| Vietnam | 41,136 | 1.9% |
| Indonesia | 27,250 | 1.2% |
| India | 22,335 | 1.0% |
| United Kingdom | 17,011 | 0.8% |
| Nepal | 12,286 | 0.6% |
| Bangladesh | 11,414 | 0.5% |
| Canada | 11,016 | 0.5% |
| Malaysia | 7,910 | 0.4% |
| Others | 141,440 | 6.4% |
| Total (as of 2008) | 2,217,426 | 100% |
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 (who may or may not be considered ethnically Yamato people), and ethnic Koreans and Chinese who have adopted Japanese citizenship.
Read more about this topic: Ethnic Minorities In Japan