Demographic Problem Has Not Been Addressed

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released in late July the Vital Statistics based on Basic Residence Registration as of January 1st, 2026. While the number of Japanese citizens keeps on declining, foreign residents in Japan are increasing. Demographic concentration to urban areas does not stop. Prevention of highly aged society has not shown any major improvement. Policies on population delivered by the government of Japan has not made obvious progress. 

The population of Japan on the first day of this year was 123,767,642, which declined by 563,048 or 0.48 percent from the previous year. Japanese residents among them were 119,736,483, which occupied 96.74 percent of all, showing decline of 916,744 or 0.76 percent, while foreign residents, 3.26 percent of all, increased by 353,696 or 9.62 percent to 4,031,159. As the number of Japanese citizens declines, foreign residents in Japan are significantly increasing.

 

Since the survey started in 1968, the population of Japanese citizens had been increasing. But it started declining from 2010 and kept on decreasing for 17 consecutive years. the number of foreign residents marked record high this year, since the survey on them started in 2013. As Japanese people got older, young people do not give new births with concern on their financial conditions in their future.

 

The greatest reason of decline of population is natural decrease of the people, which means deaths deducted from births. The new births in 2025 were 670,467, which was the smallest number since 1979 when the survey on new births started. Although the deaths were 1,593,475 last year, which marked a decline, the number was two times bigger than births.

 

Although the Japanese citizens showed 6,264 of social increase, it was not because increase of the Japanese coming in, but because decrease of going out. Depreciation of Japanese yen might have caused decrease of the going out. Social increase of foreign residents was 339,970, marking the record high of immigrants since 2013. Social increase of foreigners is more than five times bigger than that of the Japanese.

 

Demographic concentration to Tokyo is accelerating, Tokyo Metropolitan Prefecture was placed at the top in population, which was 14,077,553 with increase of 75,019 from the previous year. While Chiba and Osaka marked increase of population, they showed only thousands of surges. The rest of 43 prefectures marked decline.

 

The government of Japan has been taking various measures to slowdown the concentration to Tokyo. Distribution of capital function should be one of them. However, most ministries are still stationing in Tokyo, seeking efficiency of policy executions with coordination beyond ministries. Japan Innovation Party promotes backup capital initiative. But their idea is recognized as the measure only for Osaka, not as the distribution of function of the capital. As long as elite bureaucrats want to stay in Tokyo, decentralization cannot be accelerated.

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