Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on 29/7 its population survey based on the Basic Resident Registration, revealing that the country had 119.74 million citizens as of 1/1. This figure decreased by nearly 917,000 people, or 0.76%, compared to the previous year. The decline brings the domestic population to its lowest level since 1984.
In contrast to the decline in the native citizen group, Japan's foreign resident community increased by nearly 354,000 people, reaching a record high of over 4 million. This influx helped narrow the overall national population decline to 563,000 people, bringing the total number of residents in Japan to 123.76 million.
Geographically, Tokyo was the only prefecture to record an increase in the number of native Japanese residents. In the remaining 46 prefectures, the native population declined, with Akita experiencing the sharpest overall population drop at 1.88%, followed by Yamagata and Aomori, both at 1.62%. Meanwhile, the number of international residents saw growth nationwide.
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Commuters in Shibuya, Tokyo, on 26/7. *Photo: The Sankei Shimbun* |
The population decline stems from an 18-year consecutive birth-death gap. Last year, deaths exceeded births by over 923,000 cases. The country recorded just over 670,000 native Japanese births, the lowest in statistical history, contrasting with a record nearly 23,000 children born to foreign parents. Total deaths reached 1.6 million among native citizens and over 9,000 among foreign residents.
According to The Yomiuri Shimbun, the population imbalance has led to a disparity in ballot value between regions, up to 2.1 times in House of Representatives electoral districts. This means a voter's ballot in a sparsely populated area carries more than twice the weight of a voter's ballot in a densely populated area, with 16 electoral districts exceeding a 2-fold disparity. This disparity is even greater in House of Councillors electoral districts, reaching a maximum of 3 times, with three areas surpassing the 3-fold mark.
Binh Minh
