<The Number of Foreign Residents in Tokyo Has Risen Above the Peak during the Bubble Economy Years.>
Since the collapse of the Bubble Economy, the number of foreign residents in Tokyo had been on the decline. However, this trend reversed in 1996, and by the end of 1998, it had recovered and surpassed to its former peak during the Bubble Economy.

[ Trends in the Number of Registered Foreign Residents from to Six Major Countries. ]
(U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Canada, and Germany)

For the past several years, the foreign population has begun to rise in anticipation of the recovery of the Japanese economy. This is thought to be the result of international firms sending human resources to Japan to seek business opportunities ralating to the BIG BANG, based on a conviction that the Japanese economy will recover in the near future. Further growth of this foreign population is expected in the future.

<The U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Canada, and Germany Are the Six Major Countries with the Most Residents in Tokyo.>
The six European and North American countries listed below, which each had at least 2,000 citizens registered as residents of Tokyo at the end of 1998, are hereafter referred to as the “Six Major Countries” in this report. (Italy, in seventh place, had only 686 citizens registered.)

[ Numbers of Foreign Residents by Country of Origin, and Trends Over a Ten-year Period ]

Looking at these trends by country, we see that the greatest increases over this ten-year period came from U.K., ( an increase of1,683 persons), and the U.S., (1,617 persons), while the countries with the highest growth rates were Australia, (2.1 times), and Canada, (1.6 times).

<Minato-ku Has a Quarter of All Expatriates. Half Are Concentrated in Three Wards : Minato, Shibuya, Setagaya.>

[ Proportions of the Citizens from the Six Major Countries, Living in Each Ward of Tokyo]


[ Prime Locations for International Residents ]

Among Tokyo’s 23 Wards, expatriates are concentrated in Wards that have the infrastructure to support their unique lifestyles. Nearly a quarter of all residents from the Six Major Countries lives in Minato Ward. With Shibuya Ward and Setagaya Ward, these three Wards have about one-half of the total expatriates as residents. When Meguro Ward, Shinjuku Ward, Suginami Ward, and Ohta Ward are also included, three-quarters of the foreign residents are accounted for. The total number of expatriates living in the remaining 16 Wards are barely more than the total in the Minato Ward alone.

[ Top Five Wards for Residents by Country ]

The reason for this concentration of international residents in certain Wards is that these Wards have thorough infrastructures in place for their lifestyles. For many years, these Wards have been home to the embassies of many countries. These Wards have come to offer the conveniences needed for the lifestyles of foreign residents, including education, shopping, and easy commute to the offices of major international companies. This situation has resulted in foreigners being concentrated in these areas.

The foreign population is beginning to increase in anticipation of the recovering Japanese economy and growing internationalization. Further growth is expected in the future, along with the expansion of the economic recovery and the development of the BIG BANG. Since popular Wards offer expatriates a comfortable life, these Wards are expected to continue to be among the most popular living areas in the future as well.

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