Japan’s Population Declines By 644,000; Largest Drop In Record

Japan’s population recently experienced its most significant decline, sagging by 644,000 to just 125.5 million by 2021. This is a sign of a decrease in foreigners due to more strict border control measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the rapid aging of society, according to data released by the government on the data on Friday.

The figure was the 125,502,000 mark as of October 1, down 644,000 from a year ago for the 11th year of decline. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, this was the most significant drop since comparable data were available in 1950.

The number of foreigners living in Japan decreased by 25,000 to 2,722,000 after the strict control of borders that was instituted to prevent coronavirus outbreaks that are imported.

Japanese citizens accounted for 122,780,000, a decrease of 618,000 over one year prior. Although Japan had 831,000 births in 2021, this number was surpassed by a 1.44 million death toll.

Japan faces the double problem of a shrinking workforce and an aging population. But, the rate of population decline has decreased in recent years and was aided by an increase in foreigners entering the country through a more straightforward visa system to help alleviate the shortage of labor.

However, the coronavirus border control hindered businesses facing unemployment from hiring overseas workers and led corporate world members to demand ease in the policy.

The population of the working-age, also known as those aged between 15-and 64, decreased by 584,000 to 74,504,000, representing 59.4 percent of the people, which is a record low.

The 14-year-olds and younger made up the lowest percentage in the range of 11.8 percent of the population, while those older than 65 accounted for an all-time high of 28.9 percent.

Source: JapanToday

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