Japan's population falls, but number of foreigners in country rises

Japanese government data showed on Wednesday (July 26) that number of Japanese people in the country has dropped at fastest pace ever while the number of foreign residents has risen to a record 3 million.

The data revealed that the Japanese society is aging across the country. It recommends that foreign nationals are taking a bigger role in making up for the shrinking population.

Number of Japanese nationals decreased for a 14th year by around 800,000 people. Japanese nationals now number 122.42 million. The numbers have been taken from resident registration data collected as of January 1, 2023. The data was released by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

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The datashowed that number of Japanese nationals fell in all 47 prefectures for the first time.

The number of foreign nationals living in Japan was a record 2.99 million, a 10.7% increase from the previous year, the biggest year-on-year increase since the ministry began tracking the data a decade ago.

Just before the pandemic, on Janury 1, 2020, there were 2.87 million foreigners living in Japan.

The new data has showed that Japan's total population fell to 125.42 million.

The population has fallen every year since peaking in 2008 due to a low birth rate, reaching a record low last year.

Government takes steps

The government aims to address the problem by various means, including employing more women, the top government spokesperson said.

"To secure a stable workforce, the government will promote labour market reforms to maximise the employment of women, the elderly and others," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made reversal of drastic decrease in population a top priority of his government.

In spite of high levels of debt, the government plans to earmark 3.5 trillion yen ($25 billion) a year for child care and other measures to support parents.

A group of Tokyo-based public think tanks said last year that Japan needed about four times as many foreign workers by 2040 to achieve the government's economic growth forecasts.

(With inputs from agencies)

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