The Uzbek diaspora in Japan: from the first workers of the 1970s to today's community of students and trainees
The Uzbek community in Japan is small but one of the country's fastest-growing diasporas: from 184 people in 2000 to 7,362 by the end of 2025. This historical explainer sets out the community's Soviet-era roots, its growth after independence, its main cities and the labor-migration agreements concluded with Japan — on the basis of sources, with precise dates and figures.
Though small in number, the Uzbek community in Japan is one of the country's fastest-growing foreign populations. Below its history — from the first traces in the Soviet era to today's community of students, workers and technical trainees — is set out as sourced facts only, with precise dates and figures.
First traces: the Soviet era (1970s)
The first Uzbeks settled in Japan while Uzbekistan was still Soviet — in the 1970s — and most of them worked in factories. During this period the community was very small and no organized diaspora had formed.
After independence: diplomatic relations and growth
After Uzbekistan became independent in 1991, Japan recognized the new state and in 1992 diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. The number of Uzbeks in Japan then began to grow rapidly: in 2000 there were only 184 Uzbeks in the country.
Growth in numbers
The number of Uzbeks rose from 184 in 2000 to nearly 4,000 by 2018, and to 7,362 by December 2025 — almost 40-fold in 25 years. This community is the largest Central Asian community in Japan, the second-largest from the former Soviet Union (after Russia), and the fifth-largest Muslim community in the country (after Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malaysia).
Where they live and what they do
The community is concentrated mainly in Tokyo, Nagoya and Chiba. Most Uzbeks work as students, factory and restaurant workers, and as translators for Russian speakers.
Labor-migration pathways: technical trainees and the "Specified Skilled Worker" programs
On 15 January 2019 Japan and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of cooperation on technical intern training — the aim being to transfer technical skills from Japan to Uzbekistan. Later that year the two sides also signed a memorandum of cooperation on the basic framework for the "Specified Skilled Worker" status. On 16–19 October 2022 Uzbekistan's employment minister visited Japan and held seminars in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. By the end of 2023 about 304 Uzbek technical interns were residing in Japan.
On 29 June 2026 Japan signed a new memorandum of cooperation with Uzbekistan: it concerns the "Employment for Skill Development" program, which is to replace the technical intern training system from April 2027, and was concluded between four Japanese ministries/agencies and Uzbekistan's Agency for External Labour Migration.
Community life and notable figures
Japanese-Uzbek non-profit organizations, created by community members and Japanese volunteers, are active in Japan. Notable people associated with the community include the researcher Timur Dadabaev and the member of Japan's parliament Arfiya Eri. In sum: the Uzbek diaspora in Japan is an example of a fast-growing community that has turned, in a short time, from a handful of Soviet-era workers into a modern community built on education, labor and skills exchange.
