【Japan's total population has decreased by about 3.1 million to 123 million over the past five years, with declining birth rates and aging population intensifying natural decline, making the nation continuously age.】 On May 29, reports from multiple Japanese media outlets including TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN stated that Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released preliminary results of its nationwide census conducted every five years. The total population of Japan in 2025 stands at 123.05 million, a decrease of 3.097 million compared to the previous survey five years ago—a drop of 2.5%. Due to increasingly severe issues of low fertility and aging, this reduction is larger than that seen in the 2020 survey, marking the largest decline in history. Looking at changes across Japan’s 47 prefectures, only Tokyo and Okinawa Prefectures saw increases, while the other 45 prefectures experienced decreases. Notably, Kanagawa Prefecture recorded its first population decline since World War II, while Saitama and Chiba Prefectures also experienced their first declines since data collection began in 1920. Tokyo Metropolitan Area reached 14.24 million people, and the so-called Greater Tokyo Region—including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba—now totals 36.98 million people, accounting for 30.1% of Japan’s national population—the first time exceeding one-third. Meanwhile, over 90% of Japan’s 1,719 municipalities have seen population declines. In global population rankings, Japan has been surpassed by Ethiopia and now ranks 12th globally, representing 1.5% of the world’s 8.2 billion people. Japan’s population census began in 1920 and is conducted every five years. This marks the third consecutive decline following those in 2015 and 2020, with the rate of decline significantly widening compared to the 0.7% reduction (948,646 fewer people) observed in 2020. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications attributed the accelerated natural decline primarily to declining birth rates. During the previous survey, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led many Japanese residents abroad to temporarily return home, which had somewhat mitigated the population drop.
Looking at changes by prefecture, in the 2020 survey, eight prefectures—including the Greater Tokyo area, Aichi, Fukuoka, and Okinawa—saw population growth; however, in this latest survey, only Tokyo and Okinawa showed increases. Tokyo gained over 198,000 people, accounting for 11.6% of Japan’s total population. For the first time since records began in 1920, Saitama, Chiba, and Aichi Prefectures all experienced population declines. Kanagawa Prefecture’s decline marks the first since continuous monitoring resumed shortly after WWII in 1945. Osaka Prefecture, which had declined by less than 0.1% in 2020, now shows a decrease of 0.8%, nearly flat, and its population fell below 8.8 million for the first time in 30 years. Among all prefectures, Akita Prefecture recorded the highest rate of decline at 8.1%. Northeastern regions and the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions all saw declines exceeding 5%, with Aomori Prefecture down 7.9%, Iwate, Yamagata, and Kōchi Prefectures each dropping by 7.0%. Hokkaido recorded the largest absolute decline—239,195 people—followed by Shizuoka Prefecture (164,357 people) and Hyōgo Prefecture (141,177 people). Of Japan’s 1,719 municipalities (with Tokyo’s 23 wards counted as one city), more than 90%—1,558 municipalities—experienced population decreases. Municipalities experiencing reductions of over 10% accounted for 27.7% of all municipalities, nearly doubling from the previous survey. Rising numbers of single-person households contributed to a record high of 57.1245 million household units, up 2.3% year-on-year. At the same time, the average number of people per household dropped to a historical low of 2.15. The effective response rate for the 2025 population census was 80.7%. Final results will be officially announced this September. Two major trends in Japan appear irreversible: first, ongoing population decline and rapid aging, causing the nation to grow older; second, persistent increases in both national and local government debt. If Japan were viewed as a corporation, it would be heading toward bankruptcy (despite claims that individual household financial assets could offset national debt, such ideas are largely impractical).
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866508970248260/
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