Population in Japan Keeps on Declining for 16 Years

Ministry for Internal Affairs and Communications released its demographic survey, or the Vital Survey, of Japan at the time of October 1st, 2023. Population of Japan declined for sixteen consecutive years, while foreigners in Japan showed significant increase. It is likely that xenophobic sentiment among the Japanese is further growing as some news conservative parties promote policies excluding foreign people from Japan.

The statistics were based on demographic data recorded on the Basic Resident Register, total sum of records in the cities, towns and villages all around Japan. Although Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has annual survey of Future Population Estimate, the Vital Statistics annually wraps up the basic contemporary demographic situation.

 

The population of Japanese citizens was 120,653,227 in October 2023. It declined by 908,574 from the previous year, marking 0.75 percent of reduction. Both the number and ratio of demographic shrinking were the biggest, since the ministry started the survey in 1968.

 

On the other hand, foreigners in Japan were 3,677,463, with increase of 354,089 which was a new record since 2013. Indeed, they increased by 10.65 percent from the previous year. The share of foreigners in registered people in Japan grew to 2.96 percent. Compared to the share of foreigners in Germany, which was nearly 15 percent in 2023, foreigners in Japan does not have incredibly great share so far.

 

The greatest reason why the Japanese population is declining was because more people died while less people were born. The deaths surpassed the number of live birth by 912,161, which was also the highest record. The number of live birth was 687,689, declining below 700 thousand for the first time.

 

In the trend of overall decline in population, residents in urban area of Japan are increasing. Population in Tokyo has swollen by 0.65 percent, while Akita lost its population by 1.84 percent, followed by Aomori with 1.64 percent and Kochi with 1.59 percent. Centralization to Tokyo and its suburb is still in progress.

 

Gradual decline of infection of COVID seems to have caused increase of foreign people in Japan, helped by depreciative trend of Japanese yen. The share of foreigners in Tokyo was 5.15 percent, followed by Aichi with 4.30 percent. The ratio of increase was the biggest in Hokkaido, with increase of 19.57 percent. It is likely that more affordable foreigners have started living in around resort area in Hokkaido.

 

Growing number of foreigners brings growing concerns in the life of ordinary Japanese people. More Japanese people feel uncomfortable with foreign neighbors who do not understand basic rules in local communities. New populist party, Sanseito, increased its seats in the Upper House election n July, appealing regulative policy against accepting foreign immigrants.

 

The demographic change in local community also causes inequality for voting in elections. The value of one vote in every single-seat district of the House of Representatives differs each other. According to calculation of Yomiuri Shimbun, the value of one vote in Tottori 1st district was 2.103 times greater than that in Fukuoka 5th. It is broadly recognized that the gap greater than 2 times would violate the Constitution which guarantees equality under the law. The House of Representatives may be facing pressure to redraw the line of electoral districts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dilemma between Alliance and Constitution

  In the new year ministerial online meeting, Japan and United States resolved to work together to deal with various challenges by China. In the Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee, or “2+2,” the ministers of both government, US Secretaries of State and Defense and Japanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, expressed their concerns on Beijing’s efforts, which were recognized as undermining the rule-based order in Indo-Pacific region and the world. On possible countermeasures, however, there still is a possibility of constitutional dispute in Japan over the principle of exclusively defensive security policy. The ministers referred to their concern about China’s activities in the East and the West China Sea. They reaffirmed to apply Article V of US-Japan Treaty of mutual Cooperation and Security to the Senkaku Islands, and strongly objected to China’s unlawful maritime claims, militarization and coercive activities in the South China Sea. They did not forge...
Read more

Oral Argument against Landfill

Governor of Okinawa Denny Tamaki made an unusual appearance to the court on Monday to submit his opinion on the building of new base for United States Force in Henoko, Nago city. “Execution by proxy of the national government, which violates the independency of Okinawa, cannot be accepted,” said Tamaki in the first oral argument at Naha Branch of Fukuoka High Court on the trial over the request of national government to change the design of new base. Accepting demand from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the court closed the trial on the day one.   The national government submitted in 2020 a change of plan for the construction of new base, which was to reinforce the soil of sea base. The government of Okinawa rejected the plan and Tokyo ordered Okinawa accepting it, but Okinawa did not obey, and then Tokyo filed a lawsuit. The Supreme Court decided in September that the order of national government was lawful. Seeing that Okinawa did not approve the plan by ...
Read more

New But Traditional Capitalism

According to the top leader of Japan, the country is going to lead the world with a concept of “new capitalism.” In his annual policy speech to the National Diet on Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida required the people to join his challenge for economic and social change, to which he believed the world to be stepping forward. However, his challenge looks to be relatively leaning on traditional growth-oriented policies, lacking strong momentum for wealth distribution to every corner of Japanese society.      Kishida tried to sell his new capitalism as the key to economic revitalization. He listed various hazards the world was encountering; wider gap and poverty brought by dependence on market economy without fair distribution, shortage of mid- or long-term investment caused by putting priority on efficiency of competitive market, losing sustainability, arial gap between the urban and the rural, serious climate change with pressure on the nature, and crisis of healthy de...
Read more