For a long time, I heard that foreign nationals do not want to work in Japan anymore because of the weak yen and low salaries.

However, last year I was surprised when, during an interview with a Taiwanese media outlet, I was asked: “Why has Japan been so successful in attracting foreign talent while many Taiwanese seem to be leaving for Japan to study and work?” This is not what I am used to seeing in daily news reports in Japan.

In fact, the number of foreign nationals working in the country is increasing, reaching a record high of 2.04 million in October 2023, up over 12% from the previous year, according to the health ministry.