Japan's overstayer population fell to 65,229 as of 1 July 2026, down 3,259 from the 68,488 counted on 1 January 2026, according to figures the Immigration Services Agency published on 16 October 2026. Thailand displaced Vietnam as the largest single nationality, and short-stay permission accounted for three-fifths of the total.
The decline of 4.8% arrived alongside the same day's release putting the resident population at a record 4.28 million. The two numbers moved in opposite directions: the group living in Japan lawfully grew while the group that had lost its status shrank.
Thailand moves ahead of Vietnam
Thailand now leads at 10,260, a fall of 647. Vietnam, which held first place in the previous count, dropped 1,466 to 10,135, the largest decrease of any nationality and the reason the ranking changed. South Korea follows at 9,759, then China at 5,312, the Philippines at 4,173 and Indonesia at 4,077.
Sri Lanka is the only entry in the top ten to rise, up 287 to 2,378. Taiwan stands at 2,424, Turkey at 1,212 and Cambodia at 938. The agency offers no explanation for any individual movement.
If you are arriving as a visitor
Short-stay permission is the single largest category in the breakdown at 39,180, about 60% of everyone counted, and it fell by 2,427. This is the group that entered for tourism, business or a family visit and did not leave by the date stamped or recorded on entry.
Short stay is granted as a fixed period of 90, 30 or 15 days, or a day-count set individually within 90 days. It is not a status that renews as a matter of course, and remaining past the granted period by even a few days is a ground for deportation. Reference material on entry under this category is on the tourist visa page.
If you live here and hold a residence card
Four of the five listed categories are mid-to-long-term statuses, and they did not move together. Technical Intern Training fell 1,395 to 7,928, the sharpest drop in the table. Designated Activities rose 355 to 7,661. Student rose 262 to 2,435. Spouse or Child of Japanese National fell 29 to 1,695.
The table does not say what it is often read as saying. The agency groups people by the status they held at the moment their stay became unlawful, not by the status they entered Japan on. Someone who arrived as a technical intern, moved to Designated Activities and then lost their status appears under Designated Activities.
Both rising categories are statuses that sit between one thing and the next: a job search after graduation, a move between employers, a course that has ended. That is where residents fall out of status, through a gap at a renewal rather than a decision to stay unlawfully.
The filing window, not the expiry date
If you hold a residence card, the date that matters is not the expiry date on the front. An extension application can be filed from three months before the period of stay expires, for anyone holding a period of six months or longer, and it can be filed up to and including the expiry date itself.
Filing before expiry buys a cushion the agency calls the 特例期間, or special provision period. If an application goes in on or before the expiry date and no decision has been issued by then, you may continue to live in Japan on your previous status, carrying out your previous activities, until the decision comes or until two months after the expiry date, whichever is earlier. The back of the residence card records that an application is pending, so an expired front side is not by itself proof that someone is out of status. Cards are not annotated for online applications.
Miss the expiry date without filing, and none of that applies. The procedure is set out on the page covering extending and renewing status of residence.
If a status has already lapsed
Someone already past their expiry date has a route better than being found. Under the departure order system, a person who goes to an immigration office voluntarily, before a violation investigation has begun, intending to leave promptly, can be ordered to depart without being detained and faces a landing denial period of one year rather than the five years that follows ordinary deportation.
The conditions are strict: overstaying must be the only ground for deportation, there must be no custodial sentence for certain offences including theft, no previous deportation or departure order, and departure must be certain to happen promptly. Anyone in that position should take advice before appearing, but that one-year figure is why appearing is worth considering at all.
What the count does not measure
The agency calls these approximate figures, extracted from computerised data combining entry and exit records with information from deportation proceedings. They count people whose permission has expired and who remain in Japan. They do not count people working outside the scope of a valid status, a separate and unmeasured problem, and they say nothing about how long anyone has been out of status.
The next count falls on 1 January 2027. Anyone holding a period of stay that expires before then should check the filing date three months ahead of it, not the expiry date.
Sources: Immigration Services Agency — 本邦における不法残留者数について（令和８年７月１日現在）, Immigration Services Agency — 在留期間更新許可申請, Immigration Services Agency — 特例期間とは？, Immigration Services Agency — 出国命令制度