In 2023, the number of foreign workers in Japan reached 2,048,675, an increase of 225,950 from the previous year and setting a new record high since 2007, when the government made it mandatory to report this data.

This was a 12.4% YoY increase and up 6.9 points versus the 5.5% YoY increase in 2022 (Source: Japan Ministry of Labor).

Reflecting the nationwide trend, new profiles in the GaijinPot resume database grew by 64.4% YoY, achieving the highest ever number of new job profiles created in a year.

While this is a significant annual increase, employers may be wondering whether the top line growth number means that the quality of candidates has dropped as a result. The short answer is, “No.”

High-value candidate profiles grew in 2023

Looking at the job seeker segments that are most highly sought after by employers, the data indicates that the quality of new profiles has, in fact, increased overall. In particular, there were key improvements in these categories:

• Japanese passport holders and working-visa holders
• Foreign residents of Japan
• High demand industries, such as hospitality and IT
• Native Japanese candidates
• High-level English speakers with Japanese proficiency

Japanese Nationals and Working Visa Statuses – Up YoY

The number of new candidates with permission to work in specific activities, such as Instructor, Business Manager, or Highly Skilled Professionals, increased significantly last year, by 31.5% YoY.

New resumes submitted by Japanese passport holders and those with unrestricted permission to work also increased YoY. 

• Japanese passport holders: Up 6.9% YoY
• Unrestricted permission to work: Up 6.7% YoY
• Permission to work in specific activities: Up 31.5% YoY
• Total of these visa statuses: Up 19.4% YoY

Resident Foreigner Profiles Up 16.0% YoY

For a variety of reasons, many employers in Japan are most interested in hiring candidates who are already resident in Japan.

Our data shows that the total number of new resumes submitted by resident foreigners grew 16.0% in 2023, which was 3.6 points above the year-on-year national increase (12.4%) in new foreign workers reported by the Ministry of Labor.

Resident Foreigner profiles grew in high-demand industries

Looking only at new profiles submitted by candidates currently residing in Japan, certain industries stand out:

• Education and Training: Up 5.8%
• Hospitality, hotel, restaurant, tourism: Up 12.1%
• Sales and Planning: Up 7.9%
• IT, Internet, Telecommunications: Up 9.9%
• Specialist (Consultant, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate): Up 7.4%

These industry specific increases indeed coincide with the trends we are seeing in inquiries from employers who are looking to hire on GaijinPot Jobs.

High growth in native Japanese speakers with high-level English

Native Japanese speakers were also much more active on GaijinPot Jobs in 2023.

We saw an increase of 17.0% YoY in the number of native Japanese speakers registering in our candidate database.

Of these, the segment with the highest growth rate was Japanese native speakers who also have native English proficiency.

Here is the breakdown of the growth in native Japanese speakers with high-level English:

• Business English: Up 6.5% YoY
• Fluent English: Up 5.5% YoY
• Native English: Up 30.9%

High-Level English Speakers with Japanese proficiency

One of the strengths of the GaijinPot brand is very high brand recognition among the English-speaking community in Japan.

Unsurprisingly, the GaijinPot database’s strength is in native English candidates. As detailed in a previous article, people with business-level English also tend to exhibit a higher proficiency in Japanese as well.

Among new users who are native English speakers registering with GaijinPot Jobs in 2023:

• Approximately 27.7% possess conversational Japanese.
• The majority, 36.2%, have basic Japanese.
• Around 8.9% have business-level Japanese or higher.

Bottom Line

The main takeaway from the data is that the GaijinPot resume database grew over 64% last year. Perhaps more significantly, the quality of candidates in core segments sought after by employers also improved.

Candidates with unrestricted or specific skill working visas and who have fluent or native English in addition to fluent Japanese are in very high demand, in almost any industry. They also have many options when they are looking for work.

One of GaijinPot’s key strengths is that the site has been serving the foreign community in Japan for 25 years and enjoys unparalleled brand recognition. 

GaijinPot Jobs is very often the first site job seekers go to when they are starting a job search in Japan. In fact, last year, GaijinPot Jobs saw an average monthly year-on-year increase of 27.3% in unique users. 

At GaijinPot, we have decades of insight and experience in attracting job candidates and long-term residents to our media. This in turn gives employers a competitive edge in reaching the particular segment they want from this talent pool.

Are you trying to hire multinational employees?

If your company is looking to hire multinational talent, please contact the GaijinPot Jobs team to see how we can help.