More foreign residents are calling rural Japan home

I read an interesting piece in the Japan Times yesterday about the growing number of foreign residents living here, and the figures suggest that international residents are becoming an increasingly important part of life beyond the big cities.

According to Japan's 2025 census data, the number of municipalities where foreign nationals account for more than 5% of the population increased from 53 in 2020 to 132 in 2025, which is a pretty significant jump! Japan's total foreign-resident population also reached a record 3.84 million, representing 3.1% of the country's population.

My rural part of Japan here in Niigata. 

One of the biggest changes is happening in rural areas, which I was also interested to see. Hokkaido saw the number of municipalities with foreign-resident populations exceeding 5% rise from five to 22, with tourism, agriculture and labor shortages among the factors contributing to this growth.

Do you (or any expats in Japan you know) live in rural areas here?