Japan's population declines by a record amount.

VTV.vn - Japan's population has declined by a record 2.5% in five years, highlighting the increasingly serious demographic challenges.

Crowds at a campaign rally in Tokyo, Japan, January 27, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Japan's population declined by a record 2.5% over the past five years, according to census data released on May 29, further highlighting the major challenges facing one of the world's fastest-aging societies.

According to the census conducted every five years, Japan's population is projected to decline to 123 million in 2025, more than 3 million fewer than the figure released in 2020. This marks the third consecutive year that the country's population has decreased.

New data shows the largest population decline since Japan began surveying the population in 1920. The Japanese government attributes this to an aging population and an increasing natural decline, meaning the number of deaths exceeds the number of births.

The World Bank previously ranked Japan as the world's second-oldest country, after Monaco. Japan also has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. By 2025, the number of children in the country is expected to fall to its lowest level since Japan began compiling statistics in the 1950s. Data released in early May showed that children accounted for only 10.8% of the total population, the lowest level ever recorded.

Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan, May 4, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

"This once again confirms that the population decline is continuing," said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara. He pledged to comprehensively promote various measures to address the challenges posed by the declining population.

Mr. Kihara emphasized the need to promote the redistribution of people and businesses to local areas to address the excessive concentration in Tokyo.

The census results also showed that Tokyo's population increased by 1.4%, Okinawa's by 0.1%, while the remaining 45 prefectures all recorded a population decrease. The number of foreign residents in Japan increased to approximately 3.21 million, surpassing the previous high of around 2.75 million in 2020.

Although immigration was once seen as a potential solution to the declining population, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged a tougher stance on foreign entry. The Japanese government has identified the period up to 2030 as “the last chance to reverse the declining population trend,” even though measures such as expanding financial support for families raising children have not yet yielded significant results.

Source: https://vtv.vn/dan-so-nhat-ban-giam-ky-luc-100260529225556547.htm