Filipinos in Tokyo, Japan

Filipinos in Tokyo have a registered population of 34,425 individuals as of 2022, the second largest group of Filipinos in Japan by prefecture, ahead of Kanagawa and behind Aichi.[1]

Tokyo has historically had the most population of Filipinos than any prefecture in Japan. However, Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, a major manufacturing area, overtook it in 2015.

Major special wards and cities

Filipinos are concentrated in the special wards (equivalent to cities) in central Tokyo, at the borders with Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.

Adachi Ward at the border with Saitama Prefecture has the largest number of Filipinos in Tokyo with 3,803 residents, followed by Edogawa Ward at the border with Chiba Prefecture with 3,083 and Ōta Ward at the border with Kanagawa Prefecture with 2,707.[1:1]

Other major wards are Katsushika (1,765 Filipinos), Kōtō (1,639 Filipinos) and Itabashi (1,522 Filipinos).[1:2]

The city of Hachiōji in western Tokyo, at the border with Kanagawa, is home to 1,430 Filipinos.[1:3]


Special wards and cities of Tokyo with sizable Filipino population (Tokyo Islands are not depicted).[1:4][2] Darker color indicates higher population.

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Tokyo Metropolis

Tokyo (Japanese: 東京, Tōkyō), officially the Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to), is the capital of Japan and the most populous city in the world with a population of over 14 million residents as of 2023. The Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Tokyo and nearby prefectures, is the world’s most-populous metropolitan area with 40.8 million residents as of 2023.[3]

Despite being the most populous prefecture, Tokyo is the third-smallest in area, above only Osaka and Kagawa, which makes it the densest, with 6,100 inhabitants per square kilometer.[3:1]

Tokyo is part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island. Despite being known as a city, Tokyo Metropolis is a prefecture made up of (city-level) special wards, cities, towns and villages.

Chiba Prefecture borders it to the east, Yamanashi to the west, Kanagawa to the south, and Saitama to the north.


Map of Japan with Tokyo Metropolis in red.[4]

Population by special wards, cities, towns and villages

Filipinos are found in all special wards, cities, towns and villages of Tokyo , except for the island villages of Kōzushima and Mikurajima in the Pacific Ocean.

Ward, city, town or village 2022 2021
All 34,425 33,027
All special wards 25,448 24,401
Adachi Ward 3,803 3,670
Edogawa Ward 3,083 2,930
Ōta Ward 2,707 2,529
Katsushika Ward 1,765 1,631
Kōtō Ward 1,639 1,588
Itabashi Ward 1,522 1,513
Hachiōji City 1,430 1,344
Sumida Ward 1,334 1,263
Nerima Ward 1,156 1,118
Setagaya Ward 996 905
Minato Ward 965 953
Kita Ward 853 814
Shinagawa Ward 798 779
Taitō Ward 769 723
Machida City 697 684
Shinjuku Ward 690 710
Fuchū City 582 556
Nakano Ward 555 540
Arakawa Ward 542 542
Meguro Ward 534 515
Suginami Ward 519 498
Toshima Ward 517 496
Ōme City 473 449
Fussa City 421 381
Tachikawa City 403 382
Akishima City 398 404
Musashimurayama City 393 385
Nishitokyo City 330 307
Chōfu City 328 316
Kodaira City 305 291
Higashimurayama City 303 278
Shibuya Ward 299 289
Hino City 283 294
Hamura City 282 262
Higashikurume City 273 264
Tama City 265 226
Higashiyamato City 250 264
Kiyose City 210 212
Mizuho Town 205 199
Bunkyō Ward 202 199
Mitaka City 183 184
Akiruno City 157 145
Inagi City 144 156
Chūō Ward 141 138
Koganei City 135 134
Komae City 132 122
Kokubunji City 112 110
Musashino City 105 105
Kunitachi City 76 71
Chiyoda Ward 59 58
Hachijō Town 38 39
Hinode Town 28 25
Miyake Village 13 14
Okutama Town 11 10
Ōshima Town 5 6
Ogasawara Village 3 4
Hinohara Village 2 1
Toshima Village 1 1
Niijima Village 1 1
Kōzushima Village 0 0
Mikurajima Village 0 0

Historical population

The size of the Filipino population in Tokyo has been overtaken by Aichi Prefecture in 2015.


Population of Filipinos in Aichi Prefecture and Tokyo from 1984 up to present.[5][6]

People, news and events


Getting to know the Filipino diaspora in Japan through two events held in Tokyo: Sinulog, a religious festival in honor of the Santo Niño held in Meguro Catholic Church, and the Philippine Festival, held in Yoyogi Park and organized by the Philippine Assistance Group, a non-profit organization composed of Filipino communities in Tokyo. (27 January 2024)[7]


Police arrested Adachi Ward resident Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales (30), a Philippine national with an unknown occupation, on suspicion of abandoning the corpses under the floorboards of a house in the same ward. She denied the charge. (19 January 2024)[8]


Takenotsuka in Adachi Ward, “dubbed Little Manila,” is known for having many Philippine pubs and restaurants. The area also has relatively cheap public housing, making it attractive to Filipino immigrants, and offers convenient access to the industrial area of Saitama, where many Filipino laborers work. (20 August 2022)[9]

References


  1. 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. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Cities of Tokyo 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. ↩︎

  3. Tokyo. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia. Retrieved 18 December 2023. ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Map of Japan with Tokyo in red. © lincun (Wikipedia Commons) CC-BY-SA-3.0. Data used: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. ↩︎

  5. 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. ↩︎

  6. Population of Filipinos in Aichi Prefecture and Tokyo. © reon (Timog.net) CC-BY-SA-3.0. ↩︎

  7. Getting to know the Filipino diaspora in Japan. Malasig Carol RH. Manila Bulletin. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024. ↩︎

  8. Filipino woman arrested after couple found slain in Tokyo. Masuyama Yuji, Endo Minami, Nagatsuma Shomei. Asahi Shimbun. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024. ↩︎

  9. Takenotsuka: A Little Manila in Tokyo. Wagaya Japan. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2024. ↩︎