[Dramatic Changes in the Japanese-English Bilingual Labor Market in the US] 2. Census Data

The US Census has been conducted by the United States Census Bureau (USCB) every ten years since 1903. I’ve been living in the U.S. since 1994 and have found the results of the three most recent censuses—2000, 2010, and 2020 (due to the pandemic)—to be very interesting. Unlike Japan, which has a family register system and a resident registration system, the U.S. relies heavily on the census to understand population dynamics. (Currently, only Japan, China, and Taiwan have a family register system, making this system quite unique.) The Census divides the country into four regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) and nine divisions under these regions.

Since the inception of the census, the West has always had the highest population growth rate. However, in the 2000 Census, the South surpassed the West for the first time in average population growth rate. This was a noteworthy result, and I remember the reports highlighting it vividly. Although other regions have larger populations, the South has continued to see an increasing growth rate. The 2010 Census results showed that population growth in the Northeast and Midwest had nearly halted. And one notable finding of the 2020 Census, when compared to the 2010 result, was the population decline in the state of Illinois. This underscores the arrival of the “era of the South.”

For those of us from Japan, the dynamics of the Japanese-speaking population in the U.S. are of particular interest. Among Asian residents, the Chinese-speaking population is the largest, followed closely by the Indian, Filipino, and Korean populations. By nationality, India had the largest population in 2022, followed by China, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Among these, the populations of Japan and Taiwan are already significantly declining. The era of mass Japanese immigration to the U.S. was nearly a century ago, whereas immigration from India, China, the Philippines, and Korea is currently active. The Japanese and Japanese-American communities in the U.S. are aging rapidly, mirroring trends seen within Japan, and this is a concerning issue.

The Census provides a wealth of analyzed data, and I recommend that anyone interested delve into these various statistics to inform their future plans and strategies.

Reference: Brookings Institution (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/census-2020-data-release/)

Written by Masato Fujihara, President
Interesse International Group
Came to New York as an expatriate for an HR company in January 1994.  Became independent in 1996 and started own business in defiance of return-to-Japan order by the company.  Currently, Interesse International Group has 11 locations in the United States and established a Japanese subsidiary in 2022. With 30 years of knowledge and experience in the HR industry, Interesse International Group delivers practical information to clients.