Total population | |
---|---|
c. 71,013 35,378 (by birth) 50,761 (by ancestry) |
|
Regions with significant populations | |
Sydney · Melbourne · Brisbane · Cairns · Broome | |
Languages | |
Australian English · Japanese | |
Religion | |
Buddhism · Shinto · Christianity · Other | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Asian Australians · Japanese New Zealanders |
Japanese Australians (日系オーストラリア人 Nikkei Ōsutoraria-jin?) are Australian citizens who trace their Japanese ancestry, which includes Japanese immigrants and descendants born in Australia. According to a global survey conducted at the end of 2013, Australia is the most popular country for Japanese people to live in. Kuniko Yoshimitsu of Monash University wrote in 2013 that "Japanese people have not established themselves as a major ethnic subgroup in Australia (as have the Italian and Greek communities, for example)".
In the 2006 Census 30,778 Japanese-born residents were counted in Australia. This number excludes Australian-born persons of Japanese ancestry, and Japanese in Australia as overseas visitors (and would include non-Japanese born in Japan). Of this number 24,373 spoke Japanese at home, and 40,968 declared Japanese ancestry (including those who claimed other ancestries).Sydney had the largest population of Japanese born (10,020), followed by Melbourne (5,287), Brisbane (3,300) and the Gold Coast (3,148).
Only 4,643 Japanese-born residents have since acquired Australian citizenship (discouraged perhaps because Japanese citizenship does not recognise multiple citizenship for its citizens aged over 22). Japanese women represent about two thirds (20,413) of the Japanese-born in Australia. About half of all Japanese-born residents profess no religious affiliation (15,131), while Buddhists (8,644) and Christians (3,645) are the most commonly subscribed religions.