Tokyo [Japan], July 30 : Japan's population of Japanese nationals has fallen below the 120 million mark for the first time in 42 years, underscoring a deepening demographic crisis driven by a falling birth rate, news agency Kyodo News reported, citing data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
According to figures released by the ministry, the number of Japanese citizens stood at 119,736,483 as of January 1, marking a decline of 917,000 from the previous year. This represents the sharpest drop recorded since comparable data collection began in 1968.
In contrast, the population of foreign residents expanded by 354,000 to reach a record 4,031,159. The ministry has been tracking statistics on non-Japanese residents since 2013.
The demographic contraction persisted despite ongoing government measures aimed at boosting birth rates, the report said. Japan recorded approximately 670,000 births during the year, the lowest figure on record, while deaths reached roughly 1.59 million.
Out of the country's 47 prefectures, Tokyo was the sole region to record a rise in its domestic population, ticking up by 0.09 per cent.
Faced with a shrinking labour force, Japan has progressively relaxed restrictions to attract overseas personnel. The non-Japanese resident population expanded for the fourth consecutive year, reflecting a growing influx of people moving to the country in search of employment.
The data further revealed that 86.17 per cent of foreign residents belonged to the working-age demographic.
Hokkaido registered the highest growth in foreign residents at 14.89 per cent, followed by Okinawa at 14.36 per cent and Oita at 13.90 per cent.
Including foreign residents, Japan's overall population stood at 123,767,642 as of January 1, contracting by roughly 563,000 compared to the preceding year. Overall population growth was registered exclusively in the prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, and Osaka.
The statistics were compiled using entries from Japan's basic resident register.