Japan is shrinking demographically. Shocking figures reveal biggest population decline in a century

Japan's population has recorded the biggest decline since official statistics began in 1920, according to newly released national census results, reflecting the depth of the demographic challenges facing the world's fourth-largest economy. The data showed that the population declined by 2.5% in five years, reaching only 123 million people, a decrease of more than 3 million people compared to the 2020 census.

Record decline in population

The census showed that Japan lost 3.09 million people between 2020 and 2025, a decline equivalent to three times the decline recorded in the previous census.

 Japan fell  to 12th place in the world in terms of population, while 45 out of 47 prefectures recorded population declines, Hokkaido topped the list of losses, and only Tokyo continued to grow, attracting young people and students, until it now includes more than 30% of Japan's population with its suburbs.

Japan continued  to record one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with only 705,809 births in 2025, the lowest figure in decades, while mortality rates are rising due to the ageing of society, leading to a widening demographic gap.

Government policies — from dating apps to increased child allowances — have failed to persuade young people to marry and have children amid living pressures and long working hours, according to population studies  and reports by Japanese think tanks.

Migration. Deferred Solution

Although opening   immigration to Japan is being touted as one solution to compensate for the labor shortage, the Japanese government remains reticent about opening the door to foreign workers, with Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi Dae calling for tighter restrictions on the entry of foreigners, deepening rather than easing the demographic challenge.

The demographic downturn has put Japan facing unprecedented strategic challenges, including a shrinking workforce, rising health care costs, increasing pressure on the pension system, and  a decline in long-term productive capacity.

Experts say that the continuation of this path could lead to a radical transformation in the structure of Japan's economy in the coming decades, unless the government introduces radical reforms that include more flexible immigration policies and effective support for households to rid the country of the difficult equation it is going through that can be labeled as "a rapidly shrinking society, and an economy that needs a young workforce that is not available internally."