Japanese people

Not to be confused with Japanese citizens.

Japanese people
Total population
c. 125 million
Regions with significant populations
Japan 120.8 million[1]
Significant Japanese diaspora in:
Brazil2,000,000[2] (2022)
United States1,550,875[3] (2020)
Canada129,425[4] (2021)
Philippines120,000[5][6][better source needed]
Peru103,182[7] (2021)
China102,066[8] (2022)note
Australia94,942[8] (2022)note
Mexico86,143[9] (2022)
Thailand78,431[8] (2022)note
Argentina76,440[10] (2020)
United Kingdom65,022[8] (2022)note
Germany42,266[8] (2022)note
South Korea41,717[8] (2022)note
France36,104[8] (2022)note
Singapore32,743[8] (2022)note
Malaysia24,545[8] (2022)note
Vietnam21,819[8] (2022)note
Taiwan20,345[8] (2022)note
Micronesia20,000[11][better source needed] (2018)
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Primarily, in a traditional/cultural context, a mix of Shinto and Buddhism; minorities ascribe to Christianity and other religions[12][13][14]
Related ethnic groups
Ainu · Ryukyuan
^ Note: For this country, only the number of residents with Japanese nationality is shown, since the number of naturalized Japanese people and their descendants is unknown.

Japanese people (Japanese: 日本人, Hepburn: Nihonjin) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago.[15][16] Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan.[1] Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them one of the largest ethnic groups. Approximately 120.8 million Japanese people are residents of Japan,[1] and there are approximately 4 million members of the Japanese diaspora, known as Nikkeijin (日系人).[17]

In some contexts, the term "Japanese people" may be used to refer specifically to the Yamato people from mainland Japan; in other contexts the term may include other groups native to the Japanese archipelago, including Ryukyuan people, who share connections with the Yamato but are often regarded as distinct, and Ainu people.[18] In recent decades, there has also been an increase in the number of people with both Japanese and non-Japanese roots, including half Japanese people.

  1. ^ a b c "Population Estimates by Age (Five-Year Groups) and Sex". stat.go.jp. Statistics Bureau of Japan. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Japan-Brazil Relations (Basic Data)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "American Community Survey: Asian Alone or in Any Combination by Selected Groups". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories". Statistics Canada. October 26, 2022. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Agnote, Dario (October 11, 2006). "A glimmer of hope for castoffs". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Ohno, Shun (2006). "The Intermarried issei and mestizo nisei in the Philippines". In Adachi, Nobuko (ed.). Japanese diasporas: Unsung pasts, conflicting presents, and uncertain futures. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-135-98723-7. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  7. ^ "Japan-Peru Relations (Basic Data)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 海外在留邦人数調査統計 [Annual Report of Statistics on Japanese Nationals Overseas] (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (in Japanese). October 1, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  9. ^ "Japan-Mexico Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Japan-Argentina Relations (Basic Data)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Horie, Ryoichi (July 20, 2018). "The Voice of the Ambassador to Micronesia". Association for Promotion of International Cooperation. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  12. ^ "2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Japan". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "Shinto, Buddhism and the Japanese belief system". Inside Japan Tours. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  14. ^ "The six countries in the world with the most 'convinced atheists'". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  15. ^ "Japan - People". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  16. ^ "Japan. B. Ethnic Groups". Encarta. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008.
  17. ^ "Who are "Nikkei & Japanese Abroad"?". The Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  18. ^ Minahan, James B. (2014), Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, pp. 231–233, ISBN 978-1-61069-018-8, archived from the original on January 23, 2023, retrieved January 30, 2019