TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreign nationals residing in Japan reached over 3.7 million as of the end of 2024, up 10.5 percent from a year before and hitting a record high for the third straight year, government data showed Friday.

The number of people granted refugee status dropped by 113 to 190. But 1,661 -- mainly Ukrainians -- were given status under "complementary protection," a new program that allows those fleeing conflict to stay in Japan, similarly to those granted refugee status, by in principle giving them long-term resident visas.

Of the 3,768,977 foreign nationals who were residing in Japan as of December, permanent residents made up the largest group by residential status at around 918,000 people, up 3 percent, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

Foreigners living in Japan under the country's technical internship program, which is aimed at transferring skills to developing nations, grew 12.9 percent to approximately 456,000.

By nationality, Chinese accounted for the largest group at about 873,000, followed by Vietnamese and South Koreans at around 634,000 and approximately 409,000, respectively.

The number of people who applied for refugee status fell 10.5 percent to about 12,000, of whom 102 from Afghanistan, 36 from Myanmar and 18 from Yemen, among others, were granted asylum. Nearly 180 people cited fears of persecution in their home country due to their political opinion.

A total of 1,618 Ukrainians were accepted under the complementary protection system, which was introduced in December 2023 amid Russia's war against Ukraine. The system has allowed Ukrainian evacuees to ensure a stable resident status without having to meet what critics call Japan's tough screening rules for refugee status.

Another 335 people who did not fall either under the refugee status or the complementary protection were granted residence due to humanitarian reasons.

Under the country's revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which came into force in June to allow the deportation of those who have made three or more asylum applications, 17 people were deported by of the end of December.

Meanwhile, the agency permitted 476 cases in which asylum seekers were allowed to live in the community under supervision of family members or supporters, as opposed to detention in immigration facilities.