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City in Japan

Tokyo

Tokyo is Japan's capital. Its 23 special wards had 9.9 million people at the 2025 census, and Tokyo Metropolis as a whole about 14.2 million. The Metropolis counted 783,701 registered foreign residents in January 2026, and has international schools such as the American School in Japan and the British School in Tokyo. [N1] [E1] [Tokyo S1] [S2]

Country
Japan
Region
Tokyo Metropolis
Population
9,944,109 in 2025. The 23 special wards of Tokyo (the former Tokyo City), at the 1 October 2025 census (Statistics Bureau). Tokyo Metropolis as a whole, which adds the cities, towns and villages of the Tama area and the islands, had 14,236,627 people in the same census and an estimated 14,296,683 on 1 September 2026 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government); the wards alone were estimated at 9,991,053 on that date.. [N1] [N2]
Settings
In a city [N1]
Weather
Four seasons [W1]

Why it is here

Why Tokyo is on the list.

A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.

  • The 23 wards had 9,944,109 people at the 2025 census, counted as one city by the Statistics Bureau, and the largest municipality in Japan; they also had the biggest increase of any municipality since 2020 (210,833). [N1]
  • Tokyo Metropolis had 783,701 registered foreign residents on 1 January 2026, up 62,478 in a year; the 23 wards held 655,945 of them (6.7% of ward residents). [E1] [E2]
  • The American School in Japan says its students come from 59 countries, and the British School in Tokyo lists 70 student nationalities and more than 1,400 students. [Tokyo S1] [S2]
  • The Immigration Services Agency lists a Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau, and its Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) is in Yotsuya, Shinjuku. [V1]

The Fernshore Index

How it grades, factor by factor.

Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.

The country

More on Japan.

Cities

Other cities in Japan.

Questions about Tokyo.

How big is Tokyo, and how many foreign residents live there?

The 23 special wards had 9,944,109 people at the 2025 census; Tokyo Metropolis as a whole had 14,236,627. The Metropolis registered 783,701 foreign residents on 1 January 2026, 655,945 of them in the wards. A count by passport country is unknown here.

2025 Population Census, basic complete tabulation: outline of results, Statistics Bureau of Japan; Households and population of Tokyo by resident register (outline, 1 January 2026), Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of General Affairs; Population by area of Tokyo, 1 January 2026 and 2025 (table 1-4), Toshima Ward office (table built from Tokyo Metropolitan Government resident-register data). Checked 16 October 2026

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What does rent cost in Tokyo?

A private guide (verified 13 August 2026) gives central one-bedroom rents of ¥130,000 to ¥200,000 a month and ¥80,000 to ¥120,000 in the outer wards. Its all-in budget for a comfortable single expat is ¥250,000 to ¥370,000. It cites no sources; costs for couples or families are unknown here.

Living in Tokyo, Japan 2026: cost of living, neighborhoods and expat tips (verified 13 August 2026), expatlife.ai (private expat guide, not official). Checked 16 October 2026

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What is the weather like in Tokyo?

Tokyo's average daily highs run from 9.8 °C in January to 31.3 °C in August (Japan Meteorological Agency, 1991-2020). Only April and May combine highs of 18 to 30 °C with under 150 mm of rain; October is the wettest month at 234.8 mm.

Climate normals 1991–2020 (monthly values), Tokyo, Japan Meteorological Agency. Checked 16 October 2026

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Where is the immigration office for Tokyo?

The Immigration Services Agency lists a Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau with a Yokohama branch, and its Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) in Yotsuya, Shinjuku. The guidebook says to file a moving-in notification at the municipal office within 14 days.

Regional immigration services bureaus and branches (page in Japanese), Immigration Services Agency of Japan; Guidebook on Living and Working, 7th edition (March 2025), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026

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Are there international schools in Tokyo?

The American School in Japan says its students come from 59 countries; the British School in Tokyo lists 70 student nationalities and 1,400+ students. Both are the schools' own claims; fees are unknown here. Public elementary and junior high schools take foreign children with free tuition and textbooks.

The American School in Japan, American School in Japan (the school's own site); The British School in Tokyo, British School in Tokyo (the school's own site); Guidebook on Living and Working, 7th edition (March 2025), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026

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Sources

Where each figure comes from.

Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.

  1. [N1] 2025 Population Census, basic complete tabulation: outline of results, Statistics Bureau of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026. 1 October 2025: 23 special wards of Tokyo (counted as one city) 9,944,109 people, up 210,833 since 2020 (Table I-3-3); Tokyo Metropolis 14,236,627, of whom 784,222 were foreign nationals (Table IV-2-1). Final basic results, published 29 September 2026. Read from the PDF on 16 October 2026.
  2. [E1] Households and population of Tokyo by resident register (outline, 1 January 2026), Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of General Affairs. Checked 16 October 2026. Tokyo Metropolis: 14,077,552 residents, of whom 783,701 are foreign nationals (up 62,478, or 8.66%, on 2025). The largest five-year group among foreign residents is 25 to 29. Release dated 23 March 2026, corrected 10 September 2026 for one village. In Japanese.
  3. [Tokyo S1] The American School in Japan, American School in Japan (the school's own site). Checked 16 October 2026. Home page says the student body comes from 59 different countries. The school's own claim; no enrolment figure was read.
  4. [S2] The British School in Tokyo, British School in Tokyo (the school's own site). Checked 16 October 2026. "By the Numbers" on the home page: 70 student nationalities, 1,400+ total students. The school's own claim.
  5. [N2] Population of Tokyo (estimate): monthly, from 1 September 2026, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of General Affairs, Statistics Division. Checked 16 October 2026. Estimate for 1 September 2026: Tokyo Metropolis 14,296,683 and the 23 wards 9,991,053 (from the table behind the page, js269v0000_1.csv). Based on the preliminary 2025 census count plus monthly resident-register changes; the Division will revise it after the final census count in late October 2026.
  6. [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020 (monthly values), Tokyo, Japan Meteorological Agency. Checked 16 October 2026. Average daily high 9.8 to 31.3 °C; monthly rain 56.5 to 234.8 mm; 2 comfortable months (April, May). Normals period 1991–2020 (30 years), read from the agency's page (in Japanese) on 16 October 2026.
  7. [E2] Population by area of Tokyo, 1 January 2026 and 2025 (table 1-4), Toshima Ward office (table built from Tokyo Metropolitan Government resident-register data). Checked 16 October 2026. The 23 wards: 9,796,723 residents, 655,945 of them foreign nationals (605,518 a year earlier). Edogawa 52,771, Shinjuku 51,357, Adachi 48,290, Koto 41,387, Itabashi 41,160, Toshima 38,584, Minato 23,901. A ward government's table of the Metropolis's figures, not the Metropolis's own page.
  8. [V1] Regional immigration services bureaus and branches (page in Japanese), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026. Lists the Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu and Fukuoka regional bureaus, with branches including Yokohama (Tokyo bureau), Kobe (Osaka bureau) and Naha (Fukuoka bureau). Names translated here. The page footer gives the Foreign Residents Support Center (FRESC) in Yotsuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo.
  9. [C1] Price level index (GDP), Japan, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 64.87 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
  10. [Japan S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Japan ranks 10th of 163 countries.
  11. [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Japan: 86 out of 100 (2023).
  12. [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Japan ranks 24th of 31 countries.
  13. [Q2] Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Japan ranks 4th of 31 countries.
  14. [K1] Status of Residence "Designated Activities" (for Digital Nomad / Spouse or child of Digital Nomad), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026. Remote work for a foreign employer, or services or goods sold to people abroad. Period of stay six months, no extension; a person must then wait six months to apply again; no residence card is issued. Annual income of at least 10 million yen at the time of application; private medical travel insurance with at least 10 million yen of treatment cover; no employment with a Japanese organisation. The Agency's nationality chart (PDF 001416932) lists Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
  15. [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Japan, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2023: 38.63 per 100 people (no 2024 figure published), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
  16. [K3] Federal Reserve H.10 weekly release: foreign exchange rates, 13 October 2026, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Checked 16 October 2026. Japan: 158.34 yen per US dollar on 9 October 2026, the latest daily rate in the release. Used to convert yen amounts: 10 million yen is about US$63,000 and 30 million yen about US$189,000.
  17. [R1] Status of Residence "Designated Activities" (long-term stay for sightseeing, recreation and similar, and accompanying spouse) (page in Japanese), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026. Describes the status for foreign nationals staying up to one year in Japan for sightseeing, recreation and similar activities, and a spouse accompanying them; applicants show current savings and six months of account history, and a private medical insurance policy covering the stay. The page does not state the savings amount; it refers to a Ministry of Justice notice that was not opened.
  18. [R2] Designated activities (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation): documents for applicants, VFS Global, Singapore (private visa application centre for the Japanese embassy; one-pager updated 26 September 2025). Checked 16 October 2026. Says the applicant must be 18 or older with savings of more than 30 million yen, shown by a bankbook and six months of balances and transactions, plus private medical travel insurance for the stay. A private operator's checklist for Singapore applicants, not a government page; the amount is expected to match the Ministry of Justice notice but that was not opened.
  19. [R3] Finding a status of residence by activity (page in Japanese), Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Checked 16 October 2026. The Agency's list of 28 statuses of residence (professor, highly skilled professional, business manager, student, family stay, designated activities, permanent resident and others) has no status for retirees or for people living on a pension.
  20. [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Japan, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 446, rank 96 of 123 countries and regions; the 2026 edition was not yet published on 15 October 2026.

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