Record number of foreign graduates join Japan workforce

A record 11,647 foreign students started working in Japan after completing their studies at colleges, universities and other schools in this country last year, up 678 from 2012, according to Justice Ministry statistics.

The students were mostly from other Asian nations. The figure included 7,637 Chinese, up 9 percent from 2012, accounting for a predominant 65 percent of the total, the ministry said.

A major factor behind the trend is the desire of domestic corporations for such students to play a central role in helping them expand operations overseas, encouraged by a recent economic recovery due to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies, according to observers.

The graduates also included 1,227 South Koreans, down 13 percent from the previous year; 424 Vietnamese, up 40 percent; and 360 Taiwanese, up 2 percent.

By type of degree earned, more than 70 percent held a university degree or higher, with 41 percent receiving undergraduate degrees and 35 percent completing graduate degrees.

The figures showed an accumulation of foreign nationals who changed their resident status from student to worker. The status categories after the changes were approved by immigration authorities included “Specialist in Humanities/International Service” and “Engineer.”

The number of such foreign graduates hit the previous record high of 11,040 in 2008, but then fell in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Since 2010, the number of such foreign graduates has been on a recovery trend.