Japan’s Population Falls for 12th Consecutive Year

Jiji Press

18:03 JST, April 12, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s population, including non-Japanese residents, declined by 556,000, or 0.44%, from a year before to 124,947,000 as of Oct. 1 last year, down for the 12th consecutive year, the internal affairs ministry said Wednesday.

Of the total, Japanese nationals accounted for 122,031,000, down by 750,000, or 0.61%. The decline accelerated for the 11th straight year to mark the largest figure since the statistics began in 1950.

By prefecture, Tokyo enjoyed a rebound in its population, while Okinawa saw its population shrink for the first time since its return to Japanese administration in 1972.