Tokyo: SiltaNews – News Desk
Japan’s population, including foreign residents, fell by a record 3.10 million, or 2.5%, from 2020 to 123,049,524 in 2025, according to the latest national census released on Friday.
The census, conducted every five years since 1920, showed that the total population declined for the third consecutive survey. It also revealed that 30.1% of the population was concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area as of 1st October, surpassing the 30% threshold for the first time.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications attributed the decline to the country’s graying population and the widening natural decrease, in which deaths outnumber births, Kyodo News reported. “It was confirmed again that the population decline is advancing even further,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference, pledging to “comprehensively promote various measures” to address the challenges of a falling population.
The ministry also said that the number of foreign residents was estimated at around 3.21 million, well above the record high of about 2.75 million in the finalised figures for the 2020 census. According to UN population estimates for 2025, Japan is the world’s 12th most populous country and accounts for 1.5% of the global total.