More Japanese expats in US, China returning home amid rising costs of living

The number of overseas Japanese grew every year from 1989 to 2019, but has declined since, with Shanghai and New York showing steep drops, data shows
Anti-Asian racism in the US and arrests of Japanese nationals in China sparked concern among expats, while others went home for ‘economic reasons’ and to enrol their children in local schools

Japan

Julian Ryall

Published: 12:00pm, 9 Feb 2024

Why you can trust SCMP

An increasing number of Japanese who had been long-term overseas residents are opting to return home, with the Japanese populations of Shanghai and New York showing particularly sharp declines, a demographic trend that some attribute to the pandemic and economic pressures.

The number of Japanese identified as long-term residents or permanent residents of another country increased every year from 1989 to 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released in early February. In 1989, there were around 590,000 Japanese living abroad, rising to 1.41 million in 2019.

That growth trend reversed in 2020, however, falling to 1.36 million, and continued to fall in the three years since. In 2023, there were 1.29 million overseas Japanese.

By country, the 2023 statistics show that about 32 per cent of Japanese expatriates live in the United States, while 7.9 per cent of them are living in China.

Pedestrians in Tokyo. In 2023, there were 1.29 million overseas Japanese. Photo: EPA-EFE

While the number of Japanese living in Asia, Europe, the countries of the former Soviet Union, North America and South America fell, more Japanese are living in Africa, the Middle East, Central America and Oceania.

“Personally, my family and I would have liked to stay in London longer, but it was just not possible with my job,” said Izumi Tsuji, a professor at Chuo University who returned to Tokyo in 2019 after a year in Britain.

“We all very much liked the atmosphere in the UK, a sense of freedom after the constraints of Japanese society,” he told This Week in Asia.

Many parents want their children to go to Japanese universities and then get a job at a Japanese company

Izumi Tsuji, Chuo University

For his Japanese friends and colleagues in Britain, however, the major concern was their children’s education.

“Generally speaking, education in the UK is very good, but Japanese families have to make a decision when their children reach a certain age,” Tsuji said. “They either stay in the UK and complete their education in that system or they have to come back to Japan.

“Many parents want their children to go to Japanese universities and then get a job at a Japanese company, and they think that putting their children through a Japanese school is the best way to do that,” he said.

Japanese students in class. Some expats returned home to enrol their children in local schools. Photo: Shutterstock

By city, Los Angeles had the largest number of expatriate Japanese, although the total of 64,457 in 2023 was down from a peak of 71,000 in 2012. Bangkok remained the second-most popular overseas metropolis for Japanese, with slightly more than 50,000 residents last year, down from 60,000 in 2021. New York’s Japanese population declined sharply from some 60,000 individuals to 38,000 from 2007 to 2023.

Japanese residents in Shanghai peaked in 2012 at 58,000 and fell to 38,000 in 2023. There were 32,000 Japanese in London last year, down from 39,000 in 2013, and some 31,000 in Singapore, a decline from a peak of 37,000 in 2016.

The ministry’s report did not examine the reasons for expatriate Japanese returning home, although it did note that the recent decline in the number of Japanese based overseas coincided with the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in 2019.

Other factors are likely to include Japanese firms reducing the number of workers overseas due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

Demonstrators raise awareness of anti-Asian violence at the Japanese-American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on March 13, 2021. Photo: AFP

Japanese media highlighted a spate of racist attacks against Asians in the US as one of the reasons behind the trend. Similarly, media coverage of the arrest in China of Japanese businessmen and academics on charges of spying has triggered deep concern in the business community and encouraged some businessmen to send their families back to Japan.

Noriko Brewster, who has lived in Britain for 30 years and owns a pet business in southern England, said she had no plans to return to Japan and was not yet thinking of retirement, but could see why some of her Japanese friends might be contemplating going home.

“As they get older, they tend to miss home, especially if they have family there,” she said. “There are also economic reasons connected to the fluctuating exchange rate and the high cost of living in the UK for people who do not own a property.”

Japan tech firms face fierce competition for global talent amid skills shortage

Mami Sherwood moved to Australia in 2012 and is a primary school teacher in Melbourne. And while some of her Japanese friends are contemplating leaving, she has no plans to return to Japan.

“I’m married to an Australian, we have two children and secure jobs, so my whole life is based in Australia,” she said. “I like where we live in Melbourne, both because of the overall lifestyle, but also because of the service and opportunities available to our family, like medical care, education, the environment and the work-life balance.

“I do miss some aspects of Japan and its culture, especially for our children’s education, but we are lucky enough for them to be able to attend an international Japanese school in Australia that is funded by the Japanese government,” she said.

“But I do have some friends who are thinking about moving back to Japan,” Sherwood said. “The reasons vary, but for many it is because they want to take care of elderly parents or give their children opportunities to be educated in the Japanese school system. One of my friends wants her son to be able to train with a professional Japanese soccer team.”

Sherwood says she enjoys Australia’s multicultural society and the better work-life balance, although she has noticed prices rising in recent years and misses “Japanese standards of hospitality”.

“But for me, this is where I want to be and we are not looking at going back to Japan.”

Post