Japan's has one of the world's oldest populations, and it is shrinking at a record rate

Japan experienced the largest drop in the number of citizens last year, with all 47 prefectures seeing declines for the first time. The number of non-Japanese residents, however, surged to a record high, stemming some of the population loss.

New data from the internal affairs ministry revealed that the population of Japanese nationals stood at around 122.42 million as of Jan. 1, a decrease of over 800,000 compared to a year prior and the 14th straight year-on-year drop.

According to the newly released government data, the number of births among Japanese nationals last year was 771,801, the lowest since the start of the survey in 1979. Social and economic reasons have been largely blamed for the country's low birthrate.

“Balancing work and child care is difficult in Japan,” said Yoshinori Hiroi, a professor at Kyoto University’s Kokoro Research Center, citing the realities of generally long working hours and poor support for women entering the workforce as some of the main culprits.

The employment and living conditions of the younger generation are unstable, making it difficult for them to envision getting married and raising children.

To cope with Japan's declining birth rate, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration is planning to roll out an "unprecedented" family support policy package to encourage more people to have children.

Japan's population of foreign nationals increased by 10.7% last year to reach 2.99 million, which was actually the first rise in three years after the Japanese government eased restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents from China, Vietnam and South Korea made up the largest cohorts of foreign nationals as of the end of December, according to statistics from the Immigration Services Agency.

While Japan hasn’t embraced immigration as a way to combat population decline, the government has been seeking ways to better recruit and retain foreign human resources.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/26/national/japan-population-fall/