The number of Chinese living in Japan is still the highest of all expat nationalities despite an overall decrease in expat numbers, according to statistics released by the Japanese Department of Justice on June 14, jnocnews.jp reported Tuesday.

The latest statistics revealed there are 652,000 Chinese living in Japan which account for 32% of all expatriates in the country, while the Koreans follow with 530,000.

There were about 700,000 Chinese living in Japan before the March 11 earthquake in 2011, but evacuations of Chinese nationals during and after the quake and later the Diaoyu Islands dispute led to a further decrease in the Chinese expat population. The dispute also had an impact on Japan’s tourism trade and on Chinese students who were considering studying there.

By the end of 2012, there were 2,033,000 registered expats in Japan. The number has seen a successive fourth-year decrease, with 0.7% decrease in 2012 and 1.9% in 2011.

According to an analysis by the Japanese Department of Justice, expats who left the country due to the 2011 earthquake are now starting to return.