The number of foreign workers in Japan as of October 2023 topped 2 million for the first time ever, government data showed Friday, underlining the country's struggle with labor shortages amid an aging population.

The foreign worker population reached a record 2,048,675 as of the end of last October, up 225,950, or 12.4 percent, from the previous year, the Labor Ministry said Friday.

The number of workplaces hiring foreign nationals rose 6.7 percent to a new high of 318,775, as firms are increasingly reliant on foreign workers amid a shrinking working-age population in Japan.

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 was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

By location, Tokyo had the most 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.

(With input from agencies)

(Cover: Pedestrians commute outside Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan, August 14, 2023. /CFP)