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Japan's population falls three million in five years
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Japan's population fell by three million in the past five years. This is the largest drop since records began in 1920. The government released figures for its latest five-yearly census. It shows that the number of people in Japan in October was around 123 million. This is a fall of 2.5 per cent. The census is the third in a row to show a decrease. Japan's government said that the population decline is advancing. It said it would take actions to address it.
A big reason for the decline is very low birth rates. In 2025, there were just over 700,000 births, compared to 2.5 million in the postwar baby boom. Many governments have taken actions to encourage couples to have babies. These include more child allowances and parental leave, and subsidized early years education. Japan is one of the world's oldest societies. Its greying population is putting a lot of stress on healthcare and pensions.
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Population - Level 5
Japan's population has fallen by three million in the past five years. This is the largest drop since records began in 1920. Japan's government released figures for its 2025 census. This demographic survey is carried out every five years. The latest one reveals that the number of residents in October was around 123 million. This was a drop of just over 3 million from 2020. This is a fall of 2.5 per cent. The census is the third in a row to show a decrease. Japan's government confirmed that population decline is advancing. It vowed to take "comprehensive measures".
The government said a big reason for the decline was historically low birth rates. In 2025, there were just over 700,000 births. This compared to 2.5 million yearly births in the postwar baby boom. Many governments have introduced measures to encourage couples to have babies. These include expanded child allowances, more parental leave, and subsidized early years education. They have had little success. Japan is one of the world's oldest societies. Its greying population is putting a lot of strain on healthcare systems, pensions, and the labour force.
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Population - Level 6
The population of Japan has fallen by over three million in the past five years. This is the largest drop since records began in 1920. Japan's internal affairs ministry has released preliminary figures for its 2025 census. This demographic survey is conducted every five years. The latest one reveals that the number of residents in October 2025 was 123,049,524. This was a drop of 3,096,575 from the 2020 survey — a fall of 2.5 per cent. The census is the third in a row to show a decrease. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary said: "It was confirmed again that the population decline is advancing even further." He vowed to promote "comprehensive measures" to address the downturn.
The government attributed the decline to various factors. These included historically low birth rates. In 2025, there were around 706,000 births in Japan. This compared to around 2.5 million annual births during the postwar baby boom. Successive governments have introduced many measures to encourage couples to have babies. They have expanded child allowances, increased parental leave, and subsidized early years education. However, these have had little success. Japan is one of the world's oldest societies. The increasingly greying population is putting considerable strain on healthcare systems, pensions, and the labour force.
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