Vietnamese nationals accounted for the largest share of 9,548 foreigners charged with criminal offenses by police last year, at 3,432, according to the National Police Agency. The majority of cases with Vietnamese suspects involved in shoplifting.
They had paid large amounts of money to brokers in their home country to come to Japan and became involved in crimes due to financial difficulties. The NPA is consulting with Vietnamese security authorities to find measures against exploitative brokers.
The number of foreigners in Japan was 14,662, down by 1,231 from the previous year, according to the NPA. The number of people charged decreased by 1,129. The largest number of Vietnamese was 3,432 by nationality, followed by Chinese 2,006.
In Japan, the number of foreigners charged was 9,884 a year ago, including 1,118 Vietnamese. The number of Vietnamese tripled while the overall number decreased.
There is an increase in the number of people coming to Japan under Japan's technical intern program.
The number of Vietnamese residents in Japan was 72,256 at the end of 2013. By the end of 2021, the number had increased to 432,934, with the number of people in Japan under the intern program increasing to around 180,000 as of the end of June last year.
Some of the trainees have borrowed money to pay brokers in Vietnam. There are a number of Vietnamese who, short of money after arriving in Japan, end up stealing merchandise for resale under the direction of criminal groups. In the last year, Vietnamese shoppers were charged with 53.8% of all criminal offenses.