by Olivier Acuña Barba •Published: August 7, 2025•23:30•2 minutes read
By 2070, Japan’s population will decline by another 30% to less than 100 million. Credit: Yamasan0708/Shutterstock
Japan’s population is shrinking to a level not seen in the entire country’s history. Last year, the government reported about 1 million more deaths than births.
Prime Minister Isbaiba described the demographic crisis of Japan’s aging population as a “quiet emergency” and pledged family-friendly policies, including free childcare and flexible working hours.
Wednesday, August 6th, data Released by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Communications showed that in 2024 the number of Japanese citizens fell by 908,574, and the total population fell to 120 million.
Population has been decreasing for 16 consecutive years
In 2009, Japan’s population reached a record 126.6 million residents. Still, since then, the population has been declining for the 16th consecutive year, according to data, and has since declined due to a variety of factors, including the struggling economy and deep gender norms.
Japan’s population is set to continue to plummet over the next decades, CNN It has been reportedadded that the country will still feel a blow to pensions and health care systems, as well as other social infrastructure that are difficult to maintain with a shrinking workforce.
To combat the declining population, the government has done everything from providing births and housing subsidies to encouraging fathers to take father leave.
The country has been trying to stop population decline for more than a decade, and efforts have been accelerating in recent years as the crisis is revealed at full scale.
However, the trend continues. Each year, fewer babies are born and more people are dying, a vicious cycle and symptoms of an older population are dying.
30% of the population is elderly
The proportion of elderly people in Asia is so high that it accounts for nearly 30% of the population, new data reveals. All the while, the proportion of younger adults in child-rearing and working age has been constantly shrinking.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the working age population, defined between the ages of 15 and 64, accounted for only 59% of Japan’s population last year, much lower than the global average of 65%.
According to a government model recently revised in 2023, Japan’s population will decline by 30% by 2070, but by then, “we expect the pace of population decline to be slightly reduced, mainly due to the increase in international migrants.”
One solution analyzed by the government is relaxing immigration rules to enable more foreigners to Japan. Yet in countries that are perceived as highly xenophobic, racist and discriminatory, the solution may not actually be taken seriously.
