Japan records record annual population decline

TokyoJapan recorded a record population decline in 2024, losing 898,000 citizens year-on-year, bringing the total to 120.3 million, according to data released Monday by the country's government. This is the largest decline since comparable data began to be recorded in 1950 and highlights the acceleration of the demographic decline that shows the Land of the Rising Sun is experiencing its worst demographic crisis since World War II.

This represents the fourteenth consecutive year of population decline, a trend attributed primarily to an aging society and persistently low birth rates. If foreign residents are also included, the country's total population stood at 123.8 million in 2024, down 550,000 from the previous year, according to data compiled through October by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

This demographic decline is reflected not only in the overall figure but also in the age distribution. The child population aged 0 to 14 fell by 343,000 in 2024 and now stands at 13.83 million, only 11.2% of the total, the lowest percentage recorded in Japanese records. The working-age population—between 15 and 64 years old—which is considered key to the country's economy, has also declined. In this case, the drop was 224,000 people, down to 73.73 million, representing 59.6% of the total population.

However, the number of people over 65 has continued to rise, with 17,000 new members, bringing this age group to 36.24 million, 29.3% of the Japanese population, another all-time high. Within this group, the increase in the over-75s population stands out, having grown by 700,000 in just one year and now totaling 20.77 million. By gender, the male population decreased by 453,000 and the female population by 437,000.

A change in traditional values

The main cause of this crisis is the drastic and sustained drop in births: the last five years (2019-2024) have seen historic lows, surpassing the previous negative record year after year. The reasons are multiple and closely interconnected: the rising cost of living, the great economic insecurity Among young couples, the high cost of education and childcare, poor work-life balance, and the growing tendency to remain single, reflecting a profound shift in the country's traditional social values. Added to all this is the impact of the pandemic, which drastically reduced the number of marriages.

Although the Japanese government has implemented various measures to try to reverse this trend—such as housing subsidies, more childcare assistance, or the introduction of a four-day workweek for civil servants—experts warn that these initiatives are entirely insufficient to turn around a crisis. In this regard, the Japanese government has given the green light to a new regulation, known as Ikusei Shuro, which aims to facilitate the long-term stay of foreign workers and allow them to have a certain degree of job mobility.

On a local level, according to the newspaper Asahi ShimbunSeveral municipal and prefectural governments have begun signing agreements with universities and sub-state administrations to attract skilled labor and stabilize communities that are experiencing depopulation. These agreements, driven by traditionally more closed and aging regions, include Japanese language training and assistance with the social integration of new residents in exchange for preferential access to this labor force.

Far from large cities, Japanese local governments and municipal governments have become protagonists in a competition to attract foreign workers, offering incentives and support that, just a few years ago, would have been unthinkable. A shift that illustrates the extent to which the demographic challenge is redefining Japan's priorities.