Geographical Distributions, Internal Migration and the Impacts on Local Population Dynamics of Foreign Population in Japan: Pre- and Post-Pandemic Patterns

Masataka Nakagawa, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research
Shiro Koike, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan
Takiko Fujii, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research

This paper examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the geographical distributions and internal migration patterns of foreign populations in Japan. Using data drawn from the Resident Registration System and the Immigration Statistics, regional differences in the changes and continuities from pre- to post-pandemic periods and their impacts on local population dynamics are examined. The impacts of the entry restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly aimed at controlling new arrivals, are observed to be more significant in non-metropolitan regions. These regions underwent unprecedented inflows of foreigners in the pre-pandemic period, mostly young migrants from other Asian countries. In contrast, the impact is relatively limited in some suburban areas outside the inner metropolitan, which had become a new destination for long-term settlers. While the level of internal migration significantly shrunk among foreign residents during the pandemic period, the municipalities in the non-metropolitan regions and suburban areas of the metropolitan regions tended to retain a net gain of foreign residents. In the post-pandemic period, the level of internal migration of foreigners rapidly recovered, with increases in net migration gains being observed particularly in the non-metropolitan regions, where foreigners play growing roles in the local population dynamics.

Keywords: International Migration, Internal Migration and Urbanization, Migrant Populations and Refugees, Population, Shocks and Pandemics

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