Which Cities Do Nepali People in Japan Live In? Prefectures and Statuses of Residence in the Immigration Statistics, and How to Think About Choosing a City

Before coming to study in Japan, many people wonder, "Should I live in a town where there are many Nepali people?" In this guide we look at the Immigration Services Agency of Japan's statistics to see in which prefectures many people of Nepali nationality live. Then we explain how to think about those numbers when you choose a city or a school.

The statistics are the Immigration Services Agency's "Statistics on Foreign Residents" (在留外国人統計). The reference date of the numbers used in this guide is the end of December 2025 (Reiwa 7). On the e-Stat list, the publication date of these statistics was shown as 10 July 2026. We obtained these statistics on 10 November 2026 and tabulated them ourselves. The Immigration Services Agency has also published a summary of the number of foreign residents at the end of June 2026 in a press release. According to it, there were 334,850 residents of Nepali nationality, ranking 5th by nationality. However, the detailed tables by prefecture and by status of residence were available, as far as we could obtain, only up to the end of December 2025. For this reason, all the tables in this guide are based on data from the end of December 2025. The numbers change whenever new statistics are published.

A town with many Nepali people is not necessarily a good town for you. This guide does not recommend any particular city. Please decide where to live by considering school location, cost, part-time work and how easy daily life is, all together.

The number of people of Nepali nationality in Japan

According to the Immigration Services Agency's statistics, at the end of December 2025 there were 300,992 residents of Nepali nationality. This number includes people of every status of residence, not only students but also people who work and people who came with their families.

The breakdown by status of residence is as follows. The percentages are shares of the 300,992 people, calculated by this guide (rounded).

There are also other statuses of residence, such as Technical Intern Training (技能実習; 4,477 people), Business Manager (経営・管理; 3,158 people) and Nursing Care (介護; 2,040 people). "Student" includes not only people at Japanese language schools but also people studying at universities, vocational schools and so on. "Dependent" is the status of residence held by family members of people who work or study in Japan. For bringing family, see the guide on bringing family to Japan as a student.

Prefectures with many people of Nepali nationality

From the same statistics, we tabulated the residents of Nepali nationality by prefecture. The top 8 prefectures by number of people are as follows.

The top 7 prefectures together have 203,447 people, about 68% of the national total. In other words, most people of Nepali nationality live in large metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and its surroundings, Osaka, Aichi and Fukuoka. At the same time, there are other prefectures where several thousand people live, such as Shizuoka (7,524), Gunma (7,355), Kyoto (7,172) and Okinawa (6,937). There are residents of Nepali nationality in all 47 prefectures (the table also has another category, "undetermined / unknown").

The breakdown by status of residence differs from prefecture to prefecture

From the same statistics, we can also calculate what share of the residents of Nepali nationality in each prefecture have the Student status.

For example, Fukuoka is 5th in the number of people of Nepali nationality, but 2nd after Tokyo in the number of Student residents, and about two thirds of the people of Nepali nationality in the prefecture have the Student status. On the other hand, in Kanagawa and Saitama, the number of Dependent residents is about the same as, or larger than, the number of Student residents. This shows that "towns with many students" and "towns where many people live with their families" are not the same. However, these statistics alone cannot tell us why this happens.

About cities, wards, towns and villages

The Immigration Services Agency publishes the number of foreign residents by city, ward, town and village as "Statistics on Foreign Residents table data (by nationality/region, by status of residence, by city, ward, town and village)." However, this file is a very large spreadsheet, and the data is stored in it as a pivot data model. In preparing this guide, we could not reliably extract the numbers for Nepali nationality by city, ward, town and village from it. Also, in cities, wards, towns and villages with few people, the numbers may be withheld. For this reason, this guide does not include a ranking of the cities, wards, towns and villages with many people of Nepali nationality. This is so that we do not write, by guessing, numbers we could not confirm.

Instead, we introduce just one example of figures that a local government publishes itself. Shinjuku City publishes the population of foreign residents by nationality, based on the Basic Resident Register. In the table as of 1 October 2026, there were 5,584 people of Nepali nationality, the 3rd largest by nationality after China and South Korea. This is a figure for Shinjuku City, not for other cities, wards, towns or villages. Also, because the reference date and the method of counting differ from the Immigration Services Agency's statistics on foreign residents, the two cannot be compared side by side.

If you want to know the number of people in the city, ward, town or village where you want to live, look for "foreign residents by nationality, population" on that local government's website, or ask at its office.

How to think about "many people live there"

A town with many people from your country may have good points, such as shops used by people from the same country and a lot of information. On the other hand, many people may be looking for housing and jobs, so there may be more competition for apartments and part-time jobs. However, the statistics used in this guide show only numbers of people. They cannot tell us whether rent is high or low, whether part-time jobs are easy to find, or whether a town is easy to live in.

When you choose a city, please think about the following before the number of people.

• School location: First, decide which school you will attend. You choose where to live within the range from which you can commute to the school. For choosing a school, see the guide on how to choose a Japanese language school.
• Rent and type of housing: Typical rent levels differ greatly by area. Whether there is a student dormitory also depends on the school. For details, see the guide on finding housing.
• Total cost: Besides rent, you also pay for transport, food and so on. You can check the whole picture in the cost guide.
• Part-time work: Part-time work has rules, such as permission to engage in activity other than that permitted by the status of residence previously granted, and these rules do not change by region. However, how easy it is to find a job may differ by region and by time of year. Please check the part-time work guide for the rules.
• Nepali food: For how to buy food, see the guide on Nepali groceries.

Where you live may also change depending on what you do after school. Please also refer to the guide on what to do after a Japanese language school.

Notes on reading these statistics

• The number of foreign residents is a count of mid- to long-term residents and special permanent residents. Short-term visitors, such as tourists, are not included (from the Q&A of the Immigration Services Agency's statistics).
• The numbers are as of the reference date (end of December 2025). They may differ from the current numbers.
• The prefecture is based on the address written on the residence card. It may differ from the place where a person actually lives, depending on the status of their procedures.
• The number of people of Nepali nationality is used as the number of "Nepali people." People who have obtained Japanese nationality, for example, are not included.

FAQ

Which prefecture has the most Nepali people?

In the Immigration Services Agency's statistics for the end of December 2025, Tokyo had the most with 63,710, followed by Osaka, Chiba, Aichi and Fukuoka.

Should I live in a town with many Nepali people?

The statistics show only numbers of people, not whether a place is good or bad. Please decide by considering the school location, rent, part-time work, ease of commuting and so on, all together.

In which prefectures are there many students?

The residents of Nepali nationality with the Student status were most numerous in Tokyo (21,237), then Fukuoka (14,539) and Osaka (12,332) (end of December 2025).

Can I find out the number of people in the city, ward, town or village where I want to live?

The Immigration Services Agency publishes data by city, ward, town and village, but it is not easy to extract the numbers by nationality. Please look for the population of foreign residents by nationality on the website of that city, ward, town or village.

Where can I see the latest numbers?

You can check the latest summary in the Immigration Services Agency's press releases. For the detailed tables by prefecture, by status of residence and so on, check the Statistics on Foreign Residents on e-Stat. The tabulation in this guide is based on the detailed table for the end of December 2025. The statistics are made with two reference dates a year (end of June and end of December).

What to do next

First, check the schools you want to attend and the areas where those schools are. After that, check the rent and commuting time in that area with the guide on finding housing and the cost guide. For the whole flow, see how to study in Japan from Nepal. In the list of Japanese language schools, you can compare the location and conditions of each school. If you have questions about how to use this site, please contact us. You can contact us, but we do not guarantee admission or a visa. This site is free to use.