Foreigners in Tokyo on the rise again

The number of foreign residents of Tokyo is rising again after dipping when the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, according to a report released Thursday by Mori Building Shoji Co.

The number of registered residents from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada stood at 32,935 in 1997, up five percent from the 1996 figure, the report by the Tokyo-based real estate developer says.

The increase in foreigners from those countries is due partly to the recent expansion of foreign companies in Tokyo, particularly those in the financial sector.

Residents from the six countries account for 12 percent of the total foreign population of the capital, the firm said. The highest percentage comprises people from Asian nations.

The number of Tokyo residents from the six countries peaked at 35,300 in 1992, but dwindled over the following two years.

It grew in 1995 again, to 31,835, before falling 1.4 percent in 1996. The firm, which began compiling the statistics in 1987, based its report on data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

By district, Minato Ward has the highest number of foreigners from the six countries, at 420, posting a record increase of 19.4 percent.

As of July 1997, 13,178 foreigners were living in Minato Ward, where one in every 13 people is foreign, it says.

It cited the concentration of international schools, markets and other facilities for foreign residents in the area as the reason.