Japan Census Highlights Accelerating Population Decline

Only Tokyo Increases

Japan’s 2025 census put the population at 122,972,528, as of October 1, 2025, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. That is a decline of 3.2 million compared to the previous census in 2020. Japan conducts a census every five years, and the population fell for the first time in 2015. It fell again in 2020, with 2025 having the largest drop to date. The rate of decline rose from 0.7% in 2020 to 2.5% in 2025.

Tokyo was the only prefecture of Japan’s 47 to see its population grow. Seven prefectures that had gained population in 2020—Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Shiga, Fukuoka, and Okinawa—slipped back into decline, illustrating that even major metropolitan areas are shrinking.

The population included 119,131,935 Japanese citizens (96.9%), down 4,266,973 from 2020. Foreign residents reached a record 3,840,039 (3.1%), up 1,093,525. China was the most common country or region of origin for foreign residents at 24.0%, followed by Vietnam at 15.9%, and South and North Korea at a combined 10.4%.

Data Sources

• Data from national census (Japanese) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)