Nepalis in Japan

Nepalis in Japan
在日ネパール人
जापानमा रहेका नेपालीहरु
Total population
273,229 (In June, 2025)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Tokyo (Shinjuku) · Ōsaka · Aichi · Hamamatsu · Fukuoka · Naha · Yokohama · Sapporo · Kawasaki · Sagamihara · Chiba · Funabashi · Saitama · Kawaguchi
Languages
Nepali · Japanese · Maithili · Newari · Magar
Religion
Hinduism (majority) · Buddhism · Kirat Mundhum
Related ethnic groups
Nepali diaspora, Indians in Japan, Bangladeshis in Japan, Burmese people in Japan

Nepalis in Japan consist of migrants from Nepal to Japan, including temporary expatriates and permanent residents, as well as their locally born descendants. In 2025, there are about 273,000, Nepalis living in Japan, which makes them the largest South Asian community in the country.[3]

Nepalis are the second largest foreign student community in Japan.[4] The country remains a dream destination for many Nepali youth, with many paying over $14,000 to enter the country on a student visa.[5][6]

Employment

Japan was a popular destination for Nepalese immigrants, as they could earn five times more than the average wage in Nepal, even in low-skilled manual jobs in the service sector.[7]

Demographics

The largest concentration of Nepalis in Japan is in Tokyo, especially in the Shinjuku special ward, home to 3,838 Nepali citizens, or 1.1% of the ward's population in 2024.[8] As of 2019, Tokyo had a Nepali population of 27,598. Other wards and neighborhoods with a large Nepali population include Nishi-Kasai, known as Tokyo's Little India with a large population of Indian and Nepali citizens.

The prefectures with the most Nepali citizens in Japan as of 2019 are Tokyo with 27,598 Nepalis, Aichi with 9,093, Chiba with 6,801, Kanagawa with 6,425, Fukuoka with 6,379, Saitama with 6,282, Osaka with 3,053, Gunma with 2,978, Tochigi with 2,350, and Okinawa with 2,139; Tokyo, Gunma, Okinawa, Fukuoka, and Tochigi are the prefectures with the highest concentrations of Nepalis.[9] Nepalis are the largest group of foreign workers in Okinawa, making up 24.6% of foreign workers employed in the prefecture.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Number of foreign residents in Japan hits record high: surge in foreign labour". The Straits Times. 10 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "令和７年６月末現在における在留外国人数について".
  3. ↑ "Number of foreign residents in Japan hits record high: surge in foreign labour". The Straits Times. 10 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Result of International Student Survey in Japan, 2025". Study in Japan Official Website. Japan Student Services Organization. May 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Japanese Dream: Nepali Students in Japan". NHK World. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  6. ↑ Kharel, Dipesh (March 2022). "Student migration from Nepal to Japan: Factors behind the steep rise". Asian and Pacific Migration Journal. 31 (1): 26–51. doi:10.1177/01171968221085766. ISSN 0117-1968.
  7. ↑ Nepal's Dependence on Exporting Labor
  8. ↑ "Resident Nationalities of Shinjuku" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "Nepali Residents in Japan". stats-japan.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  10. ↑ Times, Nepali (2019-09-17). "Why Nepalis are flocking to Okinawa". nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.

Further reading

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