Japan's total population drops by 962,607, first-ever decline

The total population of Japan has dropped by nearly a million over the last five years, the first decline since records began almost 100 years ago.

The number of Japanese and foreigners living in Japan was 127,094,745 as of Oct. 1, 2015, down 962,607 (0.8 percent) from the last census taken in 2010.

Graphics: The Asahi Shimbun

It is also the second straight time that a drop in the population of Japanese citizens living in Japan has been recorded, with the number in the 2015 census at 124,283,901, a decline of 1,074,953 (0.9 percent) compared with five years ago.

The statistics reveal that Japan has entered a phase of depopulation that has been predicted for many years despite a rapid increase in foreign residents.

The results of the 2015 Census were released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Oct. 26.

The percentage of under 15-year-olds was 12.6 percent (15,887,000), and the percentage of those 65 and older was 26.6 percent (33,465,000) of the total population.

These were also the lowest and the highest ratios, respectively, since records began in 1920.

The population of foreign nationals who had been staying or were intending to stay in Japan for at least three months totaled 1,752,000, an increase of 104,000.

Chinese were the largest group at 511,000, followed by Koreans at 377,000 and Filipinos at 172,000.

(The Asahi Shimbun)