The estimated number of foreign nationals who are illegally overstaying in Japan continued to decrease after a peak at 298,646 on May 1, 1993 to 170,839 as of January 1, 2007 (decreased by 11.8% compared to the same date of the previous year).
  Reviewing a breakdown by nationality, etc., those from South Korea had the largest share at 21.3%, followed by those from the Philippines at 16.7% and China at 16.2% (Source: The Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice).