Japan’s population crisis is accelerating, with the number of nationals falling by more than 800,000 in the past year – echoing similar trends seen in other East Asian countries.
As of January 1 this year, Japan’s total population stood at 125.4 million, including both Japanese and foreign residents, according to data released on Wednesday by Japan’s internal affairs ministry. The number of foreign residents rose by nearly 289,500 compared to the previous year – a significant increase of more than 10%.
But the number of Japanese residents shrank by 800,523, marking the 14th consecutive year of contraction since a peak in 2009, said the ministry.
And for the first time, all prefectures across the country saw a decrease in the number of Japanese nationals, a ministry spokesperson told CNN.
However, due to the rise in foreign residents, the capital Tokyo saw a slight increase in overall population of all residents regardless of nationality.
The Yokobori family: Miho, left, Kentaro, center, and Hirohito, right. Kentaro was born almost seven years ago, the first in 25 years in the area in Kamikawa village.
This community’s quarter century without a newborn shows the scale of Japan’s population crisis
The number of deaths last year also hit another record high, with 1.56 million recorded – compared to less than half the number of births recorded, just 771,801 newborns, according to the ministry.
Source: cnn.com
