Foreigners make up 1.5 pct of Japan's population

There are some 1,980,200 foreigners living in Japan by the end of March this year, accounting for 1.54 percent of the total population, local media reported Thursday.

Kyodo News said that most of them84.28 percent are in their working age, namely between 15 and 64, citing a government population report released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Wednesday.

The foreign population consisted of 894,719 men, or 45.18 percent, and 1,085,481 women, or 54.82 percent.

By age bracket, the elderly population, defined as those aged 65 or older, constituted 6.77 percent of the foreign residents, compared with 24.4 percent among the Japanese.

The child population, up to 14 years old, was 8.96 percent, lower than 13.13 percent among the Japanese.

Most foreigners -- 70.55 percent -- reside in Japan's three biggest metropolises.

The greater Tokyo area, which also includes Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, had 38.63 percent, followed by the Kansai area of Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Nara prefectures with 18.02 percent and the Nagoya region of Gifu, Aichi and Mie prefectures with 13.89 percent.