TOKYO - Japan's Japanese-national population fell below 120 million as the country recorded its largest annual decline since comparable data began, according to a survey released Wednesday.
The population stood at 119,736,483 as of January 1, 2026, down 916,744 from a year earlier, according to a demographic survey released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The decrease was the largest since the survey began in 1968.
By prefecture, Tokyo recorded population growth for a third consecutive year, while the population continued to decline in the other 46 prefectures.
Japan’s population expanded rapidly in the years following World War II, rising from about 72 million in 1945 to more than 84 million in 1950. The increase was driven partly by the return of Japanese citizens from former overseas territories and by the first postwar baby boom from 1947 to 1949.
Growth continued during the decades of rapid economic development. The population reached about 94 million in 1960, surpassed 100 million in 1967 and climbed to nearly 112 million by 1975. A second baby boom from 1971 to 1974 contributed to the expansion, while industrialization and urban migration concentrated an increasing share of the population in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and other major metropolitan areas.
The pace of growth began to slow after the 1970s as families became smaller, marriage was increasingly delayed and the birthrate declined. Japan’s population rose from about 117 million in 1980 to more than 123 million in 1990, but gains became progressively smaller. Between 2000 and 2005, the population increased by only 0.7%, compared with growth of 7% between 1970 and 1975.
The working-age population reached its peak earlier than the country’s total population. The number of people aged 15 to 64 climbed from about 50.17 million in 1950 to a high of 87.16 million in 1995 before beginning a sustained decline. This marked a fundamental demographic shift as the large postwar generations aged and fewer young people entered the workforce.
Japan’s total population reached approximately 128 million around 2008 and entered a prolonged period of decline. By the 2010 census, the population stood at 128.06 million, but falling births and rising deaths increasingly outweighed gains from immigration. The decline has since accelerated as the first postwar baby-boom generation moves into advanced age and the number of women of childbearing age continues to shrink.
The latest figures show that the Japanese-national population fell below 120 million as of January 1, 2026. The decline reflects a demographic reversal spanning several generations: the rapid postwar expansion that supported Japan’s economic rise has given way to a shrinking and aging society, with population losses now affecting every prefecture except Tokyo.
Source: テレ東BIZ
