Tabunka Kyōsei without immigration policy: The role of centers for international exchange and their challenges

Figures & data

Table 1. Registered foreign residents in Japan by Status of Residence.

Year	Total	Status of Residence
		Permanent Resident	Spouse or Child of Japanese National	Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident	Long Term Resident	Special Permanent Resident
2000	16,86,444	1,45,336	2,79,625	6,685	2,37,607	5,12,269
2001	17,78,462	1,84,071	2,80,436	7,047	2,44,460	5,00,782
2002	18,51,758	2,23,875	2,71,719	7,576	2,43,451	4,89,900
2003	19,15,030	2,67,011	2,62,778	8,519	2,45,147	4,75,952
2004	19,73,747	3,12,964	2,57,292	9,417	2,50,734	4,65,619
2005	20,11,555	3,49,804	2,59,656	11,066	2,65,639	4,51,909
2006	20,84,919	3,94,477	2,60,955	12,897	2,68,836	4,43,044
2007	21,52,973	4,39,757	2,56,980	15,365	2,68,604	4,30,229
2008	22,17,426	4,92,056	2,45,497	17,839	2,58,498	4,20,305
2009	21,86,121	5,33,472	2,21,923	19,570	2,21,771	4,09,565
2010	20,87,261	5,65,089	1,96,248	20,251	1,94,602	3,99,106
2011	20,47,349	5,98,440	1,81,617	21,647	1,77,983	3,89,085
2012	20,33,656	6,24,501	1,62,332	22,946	1,65,001	3,81,364
2013	20,66,445	6,55,315	1,51,156	24,649	1,60,391	3,73,221
2014	21,21,831	6,77,019	1,45,312	27,066	1,59,596	3,58,409
2015	22,32,189	7,00,500	1,40,349	28,939	1,61,532	3,48,626
2016	23,82,822	7,27,111	1,39,327	30,972	1,68,830	3,38,950
2017	25,61,848	7,49,191	1,40,839	34,632	1,79,834	3,29,822
2018	27,31,093	7,71,568	1,42,381	37,998	1,92,014	3,21,416

Source: Ministry of Justice (2005, 2011, 2013, 2016b, 2018b, 2019).

Table 2. Registered foreign residents in Japan by Country of Origin.

Country	2000	2005	2010	2015	2018
China	335,575	501,960	678,391	665,847	764,720
Korea/Republic of Korea*	635,269	586,400	560,799	457,772	449,634
Philippines	144,871	163,890	200,208	229,595	271,289
Brazil	254,394	298,382	228,702	173,437	201,865
Vietnam	16,908	27,990	41,354	146,956	330,835
USA	44,856	48,376	49,821	52,271	57,500
Peru	46,171	52,217	52,385	-	-
Thailand	29,289	29,599	38,240	45,379	52,323
Nepal	-	5,314	17,149	54,775	88,951
Taiwan**	-	-	-	48,723	60,684
Indonesia	19,346	-	24,374	35,910	56,346
Others	159,765	192,561	195,838	321,524	396,946
Total	1,686,444	1,906,689	2,087,261	2,232,189	2,731,093

* Statistical data published by the Ministry of Justice until 2011 on citizens of Korea included those who hold citizenship of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, starting from 2012, these two categories are calculated separately.

** Statistical data published by the Ministry of Justice until July 2012 on citizens of China included those who hold citizenships of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. However, starting from the end of 2012, these two categories are calculated separately.

Source: Ministry of Justice (2005, 2016a, 2019)

Figure 1. Number of registered foreign residents (not including Special Permanent Residents). Source: Ministry of Justice (2005, 2011, 2013, 2016b, 2018b, 2019).

Figure 2. Monthly activities calendar (March 2017).

Source: Combined by authors

Figure 3. Patterns among centers for international exchange. Source: Created by authors.

Table 3. Four regional models of tabunka kyōsei.

	Urban	Rural
Concentrated dwelling area	“City center type” e.g.: Shinjuku ward (Tokyo), Chūō ward (Kobe)	“Multiple foreign residents type” e.g.: Ōizumi town (Gunma), Minokamo city (Gifu)
	Characteristics: creation of communities based on ethnic groups	Characteristics: concentrated dwelling of foreign residents from particular countries with particular resident status
	Necessary policies: creation of society in the whole region that will connect the diverse communities, promotion of their participation in merchants associations and neighborhood community associations	Necessary policies: acquisition of Japanese language and enhancement of the chances to get job training; support of the education and work of the second-generation migrants; training for the committees dealing with livelihood and school children
Scattered dwelling area	“City suburbs type” e.g.: Musashino city (Tokyo), Toyonaka city (Osaka)	“Rural type” e.g.: Ōshū city (Iwate), Izumo city (Shimane)
	Characteristics: scattered presence of foreign students, spouses, and other foreign residents, who have relatively close contact with Japanese society, active NPOs and civil society	Characteristics: spouses and other long-term foreign residents, small and scattered presence of temporary foreigners on training, doing research and so on.
	Necessary policies: support of community participation by the foreign residents; training of local NPOs that will deal with life tasks	Necessary policies: wide-range cooperation in providing information and enhancement of the counseling system, identification of foreign resident “OB/OG” models and their promotion

Source: Adapted by the authors from “Four Regional Models of Tabunka Kyōsei” (Tamura, 2012, p. 5).

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