The number of Japanese residing in the country as of January 1 has fallen below 120 million, marking the sharpest annual decline on record, according to the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The number of Japanese residents decreased by 916,744 people, or 0.76%, to 119,736,483, marking the 17th consecutive year of decline. These figures were obtained from the resident registry, the ministry noted.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign residents in the country increased by 353,696 people, or 9.62%, to 4,031,159. This is the highest figure since 2013, when the ministry began collecting such statistics. The growth of the foreign population in Japan has been observed since 2023, following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people who moved to the country from abroad reached a record level of 720,988 in 2025.
Regional demographic trends
Among the 47 prefectures of Japan, only Tokyo recorded an increase in the number of Japanese residents for the third consecutive year, with an increase of 12,540 people, or 0.09%, to 13,293,851. This accounts for 11.1% of the total Japanese population. The remaining 46 prefectures experienced a decline in the number of Japanese residents, with the largest decrease occurring in Akita Prefecture at 1.95%. Following Akita are Aomori and Kochi, both of which saw declines of 1.7%.
The number of births among Japanese reached a record low of 670,467 in 2025, while the number of deaths was 1,593,475. The natural population decline, defined as the difference between the number of deaths and births, reached 923,008 people. None of the 47 prefectures recorded a natural population increase.
Meanwhile, seven prefectures recorded a net migration gain, where the number of arrivals exceeded the number of departures. The highest figure was in Tokyo, with a net gain of 66,661 people.
The total number of Japanese and foreign residents decreased by 563,048 people, or 0.45%, to 123,767,642. The combined population of the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya was 65,979,272 people. This marks the sixth consecutive year of decline, although it still exceeds half of the country’s population.
Conversely, the total number of Japanese and foreign residents increased in only three prefectures. The largest increase occurred in Tokyo, where the population grew by 75,019 people (0.54%) to 14,077,553. In Osaka, the population increased by 3,365 people (0.04%) to 8,775,326, and in Chiba, it grew by 2,169 people (0.03%) to 6,313,748.
Source: The Japan Times
