Japan's Population Falls for 15th Consecutive Year
Japan's total population declined for the 15th straight year in 2023, dropping by more than a half-million people as the population continues to age and births remain low.
Births in Japan hit a record low of 730,000 last year. The 1.58 million deaths last year were also a record high. Japan's population was 124.9 million as of January 1.
The data released on July 24 by Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry also showed that the 11% increase in foreign residents helped their population surpass 3 million for the first time.
Foreign residents now make up around 2.5% of the total population. Around 85% of foreign residents are aged between 15 and 64 and therefore of working age.
The prefectures that saw the biggest decreases in their population were Akita at 1.83%, Aomori at 1.72% and Iwate at 1.61%. These prefectures are all located in the northeastern Tohoku region of the main island of Honshu.
Tokyo, Chiba and Okinawa were the only prefectures to experience an overall population increase, but this was largely due to people moving to these prefectures from other areas.
Surveys show that younger Japanese are reluctant to marry or have children, due to bleak job prospects, the high cost of living and a gender-biased corporate culture that adds a burden on women and working mothers.
The government earmarked 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion) as part of the 2024 budget to fund incentives for young couples to have more children, such as increasing subsidies for childcare and education, and is expected to spend another 3.6 trillion yen ($23 billion) in tax money annually over the next three years.
Experts say the measures are largely meant for married couples who plan to have or who already have children, and don't address the growing number of young people reluctant to get married.
Japan's population is projected to fall by about 30%, to 87 million by 2070, when four out of every 10 people will be 65 or older.
