Filipinos in Ibaraki Prefecture have a registered population of 10,730 individuals as of 2022, the 8th largest group of Filipinos in Japan by prefecture, ahead of Osaka and behind Gifu.[1]
Major cities
Most of the Filipino population of Ibaraki Prefecture is concentrated in the south near its border with Chiba and Saitama, and the capital city of Mito.
Jōsō City in the southwest, location of three big industrial parks, has the highest number of Filipino residents (1,303) in Ibaraki Prefecture.[1:1]
The second city with the highest number for Filipinos in Ibaraki Prefecture is Tsuchiura with 1,065 residents, followed by Koga with 985 residents, Chikusei with 590, Bandō with 529 and Tsukuba with 509. Tsukuba City is the location of University of Tsukuba and JAXA’s Tsukuba Space Center.[1:2]
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture with a sizable population of Filipinos.[1:3][2] Darker color indicates higher population.
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Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken), located in the Kantō region of Honshu, has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,097.19 square kilometers.[3]
Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefecture to the west, Saitama Prefecture to the southwest, Chiba Prefecture to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the east.
Mito, the capital, is the largest city in Ibaraki Prefecture. Other major cities include Tsukuba, Hitachi, and Hitachinaka.[3:1]
Map of Japan with Ibaraki Prefecture in red.[4]
Population by city, town and village
There are Filipinos living in every city, town and village of Ibaraki Prefecture.[1:4]
| City, town or village | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| All | 10,730 | 9,923 |
| Jōsō | 1,303 | 1,260 |
| Tsuchiura | 1,065 | 980 |
| Koga | 985 | 935 |
| Chikusei | 590 | 551 |
| Bandō | 529 | 480 |
| Tsukuba | 509 | 454 |
| Kamisu | 494 | 447 |
| Mito | 441 | 419 |
| Shimotsuma | 387 | 382 |
| Ami Town | 372 | 315 |
| Yuki | 319 | 314 |
| Hitachinaka | 381 | 310 |
| Ryūgasaki | 352 | 298 |
| Hitachi | 241 | 236 |
| Ushiku | 230 | 213 |
| Kashima | 196 | 205 |
| Inashiki | 196 | 184 |
| Sakai Town | 178 | 178 |
| Toride | 219 | 177 |
| Ishioka | 202 | 169 |
| Kasama | 130 | 116 |
| Omitama | 130 | 114 |
| Tsukubamirai | 121 | 113 |
| Kasumigaura | 134 | 109 |
| Hokota | 139 | 95 |
| Miho Village | 97 | 88 |
| Yachiyo Town | 93 | 88 |
| Moriya | 86 | 86 |
| Oarai Town | 78 | 80 |
| Naka | 64 | 66 |
| Sakuragawa | 57 | 57 |
| Itako | 56 | 49 |
| Namegata | 42 | 49 |
| Kitaibaraki | 55 | 39 |
| Tokai Village | 35 | 36 |
| Goka Town | 22 | 36 |
| Daigo Town | 31 | 31 |
| Ibaraki Town | 29 | 30 |
| Shirosato Town | 24 | 29 |
| Hitachiōmiya | 42 | 27 |
| Takahagi | 19 | 26 |
| Tone Town | 25 | 20 |
| Hitachiōta | 18 | 18 |
| Kawachi Town | 14 | 14 |
Historical population
The population of Filipinos in Ibaraki, as in all of Japan, has been increasing since the late 1970s, with occasional dips as in the mid-2000s when entertainer visa restrictions came into effect, and in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Population of Filipinos in Ibaraki Prefecture and Tokyo from 1984 up to present.[5][6]
People, news and events
A company executive in Kashima City is arrested for employing a 62-year-old Filipino man who has overstayed his visa. The Filipino man, who has already been indicted for violating the immigration law, entered Japan in 1991 and worked illegally until being deported in 1999, but came back to the country in 2001 using a forged passport. (May 2024)[7]
Police arrested Tsuchiura City resident Bryan Jefferson Lising Dela Cruz (34) for the charge of abandoning the corpses of a Japanese couple. Police believe he conspired with a Filipino woman, Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, to dispose of the couple’s bodies under their home around Jan. 16. (January 2024)[8]
Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano pays a courtesy call to Governor Oigawa Kazuhiko of Ibaraki Prefecture in Mito City, Ibaraki. The visit aimed to further strengthen the relationship between the Philippines and Japan, fostering friendship and collaboration. (May 2023)[9]
Japanese online magazine Synodos features an interview with Edry Dumandan, a Filipino International Studies student at the University of Tsukuba, about her experiences as an international student in Japan. (July 2023)[10]
Filipino basketball players Dwight Ramos, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena headline the 11 Filipino players of the Asian All-Stars in the 2023 B.League All-Star Weekend on January 13, 2023 in Mito, Japan. (December 2022)[11]
Julius Santillan, a Filipino engineer and resident of Japan for 25 years, writes about his thoughts and experiences about living in the Science City of Tsukuba as a researcher. (August, 2020)[12]
Keith Guianan Echane, former resident of Tsuchiura, returns to Japan to face trial as one of the accomplices in the rape and murder of and Ibaraki University student in Japan in 2004. (January 2019)[13]
The Tokyo High Court upholds life imprisonment for Filipino Jerico Mori Lampano for the 2004 gang rape and murder of a 21-year-old Ibaraki University student in 2004. Lampano conspired with two other Filipino men to rape and kill the 21-year-old Ibaraki University student by cutting her throat multiple times on a riverbank in the village of Miho on Jan. 31, 2004. (January 2019)[14]
The Association of Filipino Scholars in Tsukuba organizes Bayanihan 2017 to celebrate the 119th Independence Day of the Philippines. A film screening of “Heneral Luna,” lectures, song numbers, an art exhibit and a poetry reading were held. Speakers were also invited to talk about their views of Filipino nationalism and political issues. (June 2017)[15]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture will release Diwata, the Philippines’ first satellite into orbit from the Kibo lab module on the International Space Station (ISS) in late March. The Diwata–which means “fairy” in Tagalog–was developed by Filipino engineers in cooperation with Hokkaido University and Tohoku University. (January 2016)[16]
Ambassador Manuel Lopez confirms that no Filipinos were harmed in the recent flooding in Ibaraki Prefecture. "There are about 15 Filipinos who have been evacuated in Ibaraki prefecture. They are all safe, none of them are injured but they have been moved to safer locations,” Lopez said. (September 2015)[17]
More than 200 Filipinos from around Ibaraki and Gunma Prefectures attend Sinulog celebrations held in Joso City, Ibaraki. Participants came from the cities of Tsukuba and Toride in Ibaraki Prefecture and the cities of Maebashi and Kusatsu in Gunma Prefecture. (January 2014)[18]
References
第３表 市区町村別 国籍・地域別 在留外国人 (Table 3: Foreign Residents by City, Ward, Town, Village and by Nationality/Region. 3 December 2022) (XLSX). e-Stat政府統計の総合窓口. Immigration Services Agency of Japan (7 July 2023). Retrieved 13 December 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Cities of Ibaraki Prefecture with sizable Filipino population. © reon (Timog.net) CC-BY-SA-3.0. Original graphic © lincun (Wikipedia Commons) CC-BY-SA-3.0. Data used: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. ↩︎
Ibaraki Prefecture. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia. Retrieved 18 December 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎
Map of Japan with Ibaraki Prefecture in red. © lincun (Wikipedia Commons) CC-BY-SA-3.0. Data used: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. ↩︎
都道府県別 国籍（出身地）別 外国人登録者 (Registered Foreigners by Prefecture and Nationality (Place of Birth) 1984 to 2023) e-Stat政府統計の総合窓口. Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Retrieved 18 December 2023. No available data for the years 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993. ↩︎
Population of Filipinos in Ibaraki and Ibaraki. © reon (Timog.net) CC-BY-SA-3.0. ↩︎
Japanese exec arrested after Filipino welder allegedly worked without visa for over decade. The Mainichi. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024. ↩︎
Filipino man arrested over bodies found under Tokyo home. Kyodo News. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024. ↩︎
Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano Strengthens Philippine Ties with Ibaraki Prefecture. Embassy of the Philippines, Tokyo. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
Bridging Cultures：A Filipino Student’s Journey in Japan. Synodos. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
11 Filipino imports named to Japan B.League Asian All-Star team. Agcaoili, Lance. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
Pinoys off the Map: Tsukuba, Japan. Panahon TV. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2024. ↩︎
Filipino fugitive from justice returns to Japan. Maryanol, Jae. Rappler. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
Tokyo High Court upholds life term for Filipino man over gang rape and murder of student in 2004. The Japan Times. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
Filipino students hold “Independence Day” festivities on campus. Tsukuba Alumni Network, University of Tsukuba. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
JAXA to put Philippines’ first satellite into orbit. The Mainichi. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
No Filipinos harmed in Japan floods – PH envoy. Rappler. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2023. ↩︎
2014 Sinulog in Joso, Ibaraki, Japan. Ballescas, Cherry Piquero. Philippine Star. 30 January 2014. Retrieve 23 December 2023. ↩︎
