Koreans in Japan

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Zainichi Koreans

在日韓国・朝鮮人 재일 조선인 (north) 재일 한국인 (south)
Koreans in Osaka, Japan in 1938
Total population
1,000,000 (total population including Koreans with Japanese citizenship)[1] 432,444 (only including Korean citizens living in Japan in December 2024)  South Korea: 409,238 (in December, 2024)[2]  North Korea: 23,206 (December 2024)[3] Details[3] Special Permanent Residents: 281,295 people General permanent residents: 75,771 people Technology/humanities/international services: 24,298 people Study abroad: 14,906 people Japanese spouse, etc.: 11,907 people Family stay: 9,108 people Permanent resident: 7,224 people Business and management: 2,681 people Specific activities: 2,013 people Spouse of permanent resident: 2,109 people
Regions with significant populations
Tokyo (Shin-Ōkubo) · Osaka Prefecture (Ikuno-ku)
Languages
Japanese · Korean (Zainichi Korean) · Jeju language
Religion
Buddhism · Shinto/Korean Shamanism · Christianity · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Korean people · Sakhalin Koreans

Koreans in Japan (在日韓国人・在日本朝鮮人・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankokujin/Zainihon Chōsenjin/Chōsenjin) (Korean: 재일 한국/조선인) are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since the end of World War II and the division of Korea.

They currently constitute the third largest ethnic minority group in Japan after Chinese immigrants. Their population declined significantly due to death, returning to Korea, and assimilating into the general Japanese population.^[4] The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans (在日韓国・朝鮮人, Zainichi Kankoku/Chōsenjin), often known simply as Zainichi (在日, lit. 'in Japan'), who are ethnic Korean permanent residents of Japan. The term Zainichi Korean refers only to long-term Korean residents of Japan who trace their roots to Korea under Japanese rule, distinguishing them from the later wave of Korean migrants who came mostly in the 1980s,^[5] and from pre-modern immigrants dating back to antiquity who constituted the biggest ancestral group of the Japanese people.^{[6] [7]}

The Japanese word "Zainichi" itself means a foreign citizen "staying in Japan", and implies temporary residence.^[8] Nevertheless, the term "Zainichi Korean" is used to describe settled permanent residents of Japan, both those who have retained their Joseon or North Korean/South Korean nationalities, and even sometimes includes Japanese citizens of Korean descent who acquired Japanese nationality by naturalization or by birth from one or both parents who have Japanese citizenship.