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The number of foreign workers in Japan as of October 2023 topped 2 million for the first time, government data showed on Friday, as the country grapples with labour shortages.

The Labour Ministry said the foreign worker population reached a record 2,048,675 as of the end of last October, up 225,950, or 12.4 per cent, from the previous year, Xinhua news agency reported.

The number of workplaces hiring foreign nationals rose 6.7 per cent to a new high of 318,775, as firms are increasingly reliant on foreign workers.

According to the latest tally, the manufacturing sector had the largest number of foreign workers, followed by the service and retail industries.

With the construction and medical and welfare sectors hiring more foreign workers, the rate of increase has come close to pre-pandemic levels, a labor ministry official said.

In Japan, Tokyo houses largest number of foreign workers at 542,992 people, followed by Aichi Prefecture in central Japan at 210,159 people, and Osaka Prefecture in the country's west with 146,384 people.