Japan’s Population is Rapidly Declining, while Foreign Residents Have Reached Record Levels

According to official statistics released on Wednesday, the number of Japanese citizens is declining at its quickest rate ever, while the number of foreigners living there has reached a record high of about 3 million. The findings show that, in order to make up for a declining population, foreigners are now participating even more actively in Japanese culture.

According to information from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that shows the number of persons with resident registrations as of Jan. 1, 2023, the population of Japanese nationals decreased for a 14th year, by almost 800,000 people, to 122.42 million in 2022.

The statistics revealed that, for the first time, fewer Japanese people resided in all 47 prefectures. Japan’s total population decreased by around 511,000, to 125.41 million.

Due to Japan’s low birth rate, which set a record low last year, the population has been declining since 2008, when it reached its high.

As of January 1, there were 2.99 million foreign nationals who had an address in Japan, an increase of 10.7% over the previous year. Since the interior ministry started keeping track of the non-Japanese group a decade ago, the year-over-year growth was the largest.

With 4.2% of the total population, or 581,112 persons, living there, Tokyo had the highest proportion of foreign inhabitants. The prefecture with the largest rise in the non-Japanese population last year was the nation’s capital.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has declared halting the nation’s declining birth rate a primary goal, and despite having a large amount of debt, his administration intends to set aside 3.5 trillion yen ($24.84 billion) year for child care and other parental assistance programs.