The number of mid- to long-term foreign residents in Japan reached a record high of 3.31 million as of the end of June, up 5.8% from the end of 2023, according to the latest Immigration Services Agency data released Friday.

This group refers to people residing in Japan for three months or longer, excluding those on diplomatic and official visas, and those who reside in the country with a “special permanent resident” status — a category of residents who have ancestral ties with Japan’s former colonies.

Among all foreign residents in Japan, about a quarter of them are Chinese nationals — the largest proportion — with 844,187 of them in the country as of the end of June; this is 22,349 more than at the end of 2023. Next are Vietnamese nationals, at 600,348 people, and South Koreans, at 411,043 people.