Japan's population decline is breaking records. The government is helpless in the face of the problem
Over the last five years, Japan's population has decreased by over 3 million, which shows the scale of the ongoing demographic crisis in this country — the New York Times reported, citing official statistics published on Friday. This is the largest decline in the history of Japanese measurements.
According to census data, Japan's population in 2025 was 123 million, down from 2020, when the population was over 126 million. It is also the largest decline since authorities began collecting data for the 1920 census.
Japan's population peaked in 2008 at 128 million. According to forecasts, by 2070 the population will drop to 87 million.
In recent years, the Japanese government has made efforts to encourage young people to have more children. As “NYT” noted, however, these efforts turned out to be ineffective, which led to the country having one of the lowest birth rates in the world. For every new baby, there are two deaths.
— Japan has already reached the point where reversing this type of recession is not possible in either the short or medium term – said a specialist in Japan from Princeton University, prof. James Raymo, quoted by “NYT”. “It simply won't happen without mass immigration,” he added.
Villages and small towns are most depopulated
Data show that the demographic crisis has already reached almost every region of Japan. All but two of the country's prefectures saw population decline in 2025. Rural areas are most affected, especially those located in northern Japan, where the climate is more severe.
Young people go to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and other cities to look for work. In some rural areas, schools have been converted into nursing homes, government offices and hospitals are being downsized, and railway lines are being closed.
Japan's problems are likely to worsen in the coming decades. It is expected that it will become increasingly difficult to find workers for schools, hospitals, police and railway services. The country also may not have enough young people to pay the taxes needed to support retirees, the New York Times noted.
