Japan
The decline of the population reached records in 2024
Japanese official data published on Wednesday indicates a record decrease in the population.
The Japanese flag floats at the top of the Bank’s headquarters in Japan in Tokyo on June 16, 2025.
AFP
The Japanese population has decreased by a record number – more than 900,000 people – in 2024, according to Japanese official data published on Wednesday, despite the government’s efforts to try to relaunch the birth rate.
Last year, the number of Japanese fell from 908,574 people, or 0.75%, to reach 120.65 million inhabitants.
A few months ago, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba qualified the situation of “silent emergency”, committing to put in place favorable measures for families, such as more flexible working hours and free child care, to try to reverse the trend.
The largest decrease since the start of statements in 1968
The drop recorded in 2024 – the 16th consecutive – has been the largest since the start of the statements in 1968, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the number of foreign residents has reached its highest level since the start of recordings in 2013 with 3.67 million foreigners on January 1, 2025, or almost 3% of the total population of Japan.
This was established at 124,330,690 people, down 0.44% compared to the previous year.
The frustration of part of the electorate in the face of inflation
This tense demographic context and the frustration of part of the electorate in the face of inflation feeds an push of the nationalist party without aito, founded five years ago and which won 14 seats during the elections for the partial renewal of the upper room in July with the slogan “The Japanese first”.
Japan has the second oldest population in the world (median age 49.9 years) after Monaco (56.9 years), according to the World Bank.
By age group, Japanese people aged 65 and over represent 29.58% of the population, while 15-64 year olds constitute 59.04%, the two recording slight increases compared to 2023.
According to separate data published in June by the Ministry of Health, the number of births in Japan last year fell for the first time below the 700,000 mark. The archipelago thus hosted 686,061 newborns in 2024-41,227 less than in 2023. It is the lowest figure since the start of the recordings in 1899.
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