Kurdish men work at a demolition site in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, October 21, 2015. Photo: Reuters
Policies on foreign nationals are one of the key issues in the campaign for the February 8 election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament.
By nationality, Vietnamese workers made up the largest group of foreign workers, at 605,906, up 6.2 pct, followed by Chinese workers, at 431,949, up 5.7 pct, workers from the Philippines, at 260,869, up 6.2 pct, Nepalese workers, at 235,874, up 25.7 pct, and Indonesian workers, at 228,118, up 34.6 pct.
By industry, the number of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector grew 6.1 pct to 635,075, accounting for a quarter of the total.
The number of foreign workers climbed in sectors that struggle with serious labor shortages.
The number rose 14.2 pct to 340,687 in the wholesale and retail sector, grew 17.1 pct to 319,999 in the lodging and restaurant sector, and climbed 25.6 pct to 146,105 in the medical and welfare sector.
