According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the greater Tokyo area, which includes Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa, saw a net inflow of 99,243 new residents in 2020. This was the 25th year in a row to see a net inflow.

The Tokyo metropolitan area saw a net inflow of 31,125 in 2020. In 2019 it was 82,982. 432,930 new residents moved in, while 401,805 moved out. Tokyo’s 23 wards saw a net inflow of 13,034 residents. In typical years, the 23 wards can see a net inflow of anywhere from 50,000 ~ 70,000 residents. Yokohama City saw a net inflow of 12,447 residents, up 2,141 from 2019. Saitama City saw a net inflow of 10,922 residents, down 330 from 2019.

The Nagoya region (Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures) saw a net outflow of 17,387 residents, increasing by 2,370 from 2019. The Osaka region (Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto and Nara prefectures) saw a net outflow of 118 residents, although Osaka City had a net inflow.

In July, the greater Tokyo area reported its first net outflow for the month since 2013, with an outflow of 1,459 residents. In 2020, the months of July, August, November and December all reported net outflows. The Tokyo metropolitan area has seen monthly net outflows since July.

Of Japan’s 1,719 cities, towns and villages, 26.4% saw a net inflow in 2020.

These statistics include foreign residents. Global travel bans and the starting and stopping of the issuance of new work and student visas in 2020 put a dent in the year’s immigration numbers. 

When just looking at the data for Japanese citizens, 459,096 people moved into the greater Tokyo area in 2020, down 38,564 from 2019’s numbers. Meanwhile, 361,091 people moved out, up 9,007 from 2019. The net inflow of 98,005 may have been down from 2019’s high of 145,576, but still exceeds the net inflows seen in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

When looking at just the foreign residents in greater Tokyo, there was a net inflow of 1,238 in 2020 as 33,535 moved in and 32,297 moved out. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, there may have been a net inflow of 38,374 Japanese residents but there was a net outflow of 7,249 foreign residents. 

JANUARY DATA

The total population (Japanese and foreign) in the Tokyo metropolitan area as of January 1, 2021, was 13,843,525, down 2,489 from the previous month. The population of foreign residents grew by 5,561 to 546,436, although it has shrunk 30,893 from January 2020. Over that same time, the Japanese population has increased by 39,493.

Sources: 
Tokyo Statistics Division. 
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, January 29, 2021.

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