The Japanese government has announced that the number of its citizens declined by 917,000 in 2025 compared to the previous year, falling to 119,736,483. This marks the first time in 42 years that the population of Japanese nationals has dropped below the 120 million threshold.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, which cited reports from international media outlets, this data was released by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The figures represent the largest annual decline recorded since the government began compiling official statistics in 1968.
Ministry data indicates that approximately 670,000 births were registered in 2025, while the number of deaths reached nearly 1.6 million during the same period. Conversely, the number of foreign residents in Japan has increased, rising by 354,000 to reach a total of 4,031,159. When including foreign nationals, Japan's total population stands at 123,767,642.
The primary drivers behind Japan's demographic shift are a rapidly aging society and a persistently low birth rate. These trends have placed significant pressure on the country's social security systems and labor market, prompting the government to explore various policy measures to address the long-term economic and social implications of a shrinking workforce.
