Tokyo becomes a "magnet" for foreign workers

VTV.vn - Tokyo has become a "magnet" for foreign workers, with a record immigration of more than 16,000 people in 2024.

The number of foreign residents moving to the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in 2024 exceeded the number leaving by more than 16,000, government data released on November 29 showed, a record high, signaling that the Japanese capital is becoming a magnet for young workers seeking better pay.

A report from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that the attraction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (including Tokyo and three neighboring provinces of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba) is huge when the number of people moving in is 16,506 more than the number of people leaving. This difference has increased 13 times compared to 2021 - the period affected by the pandemic.

Nationwide, excluding those who recently arrived or left Japan, the 2024 internal migration wave saw nearly 335,000 foreigners move from one prefecture to another, accounting for more than 10% of the foreign community here. The majority of them were young people in their 20s. By comparison, 10 years ago, the figure was only about 145,500 people, equivalent to 7.3%.

By prefecture, Tokyo recorded the largest net immigration (more people arriving than leaving) with 8,722 people, followed by Saitama with 7,720 people and Kanagawa with 7,494 people.

In contrast, the prefecture that recorded the largest net migration (more people leaving than arriving) was Chiba with 7,430 people, followed by Aichi in central Japan with 6,684 people and Fukuoka in southwestern Japan with 4,471 people.

Young people are moving from rural areas to cities for better wages, said Yu Korekawa of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. He added that a system allowing skilled foreign workers to change jobs is helping to spur the migration, as the aging nation struggles with a labor shortage.

Localities with large numbers of people leaving are often seen as "gateways" to Japan, where foreigners stay for a certain period of time to train before moving elsewhere.

Source: https://vtv.vn/tokyo-tro-thanh-nam-cham-hut-lao-dong-nuoc-ngoai-100251201162543729.htm