Japan's native population drops below 120 million amid record birth slump
Tokyo, July 30
Japan's population of Japanese nationals has fallen below the 120 million mark for the first time in 42 years, underscoring a deepening demographic crisis driven by a falling birth rate, news agency Kyodo News reported, citing data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
According to figures released by the ministry, the number of Japanese citizens stood at 119,736,483 as of January 1, marking a decline of 917,000 from the previous year. This represents the sharpest drop recorded since comparable data collection began in 1968.
In contrast, the population of foreign residents expanded by 354,000 to reach a record 4,031,159. The ministry has been tracking statistics on non-Japanese residents since 2013.
The demographic contraction persisted despite ongoing government measures aimed at boosting birth rates, the report said. Japan recorded approximately 670,000 births during the year, the lowest figure on record, while deaths reached roughly 1.59 million.
Out of the country's 47 prefectures, Tokyo was the sole region to record a rise in its domestic population, ticking up by 0.09 per cent.
Faced with a shrinking labour force, Japan has progressively relaxed restrictions to attract overseas personnel. The non-Japanese resident population expanded for the fourth consecutive year, reflecting a growing influx of people moving to the country in search of employment.
The data further revealed that 86.17 per cent of foreign residents belonged to the working-age demographic.
Hokkaido registered the highest growth in foreign residents at 14.89 per cent, followed by Okinawa at 14.36 per cent and Oita at 13.90 per cent.
Including foreign residents, Japan's overall population stood at 123,767,642 as of January 1, contracting by roughly 563,000 compared to the preceding year. Overall population growth was registered exclusively in the prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, and Osaka.
The statistics were compiled using entries from Japan's basic resident register.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is what happens when a society becomes too expensive and too demanding on young families. In India, we still have joint families helping with child-rearing. In Japan, grandparents are often working or living separately. The government needs to look at why young Japanese are choosing career over family—it's not just about money, it's about time and social support.
Interesting how Tokyo is the only prefecture with population growth—typical of urban centralization we see everywhere. Even in India, our metros keep sucking in people from villages. Japan's solution of opening up to foreign workers is practical, but they're struggling with integration. We should learn from their mistakes as our own population starts to age in 20-30 years. 🧐
One thing I don't understand—why is Japan so hesitant about immigration when their workforce is shrinking? They have all these strict visa rules. Meanwhile, 86% of their foreign residents are working-age, which is a huge boost. If I were them, I'd fast-track residency for skilled workers and offer pathways to citizenship. India can definitely learn from this—we should be more open to global talent too.
Japan's birth rate problem is a mirror of what's happening in many developed nations—including parts of India like Kerala and Goa. The more educated and urbanized a population gets, the fewer children they have. It's a global trend. But Japan's case is particularly acute because they have very little immigration historically. Respect to their government for trying, but cultural change takes generations.
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