According to government figures released on Wednesday, Japan’s population dropped by a record amount in 2022 as the nation works to overcome its historically low birthrates.
Low birthrates are a concern in many wealthy nations, but they are particularly severe in Japan, where the population has been declining for 14 years in a row.
After tiny Monaco, Japan has the second-oldest population in the world, and the prime minister of the country, Fumio Kishida, warned in January that the country was “on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society.”
According to a poll conducted by the internal affairs ministry, the number of Japanese decreased by 800,523, or 0.65 percent, to 122,423,038 last year from the previous year.
All 47 prefectures experienced population declines for the first time.
According to the ministry, the overall reduction was the sharpest ever seen since the government poll started in 1968.
In contrast, the number of foreigners in Japan climbed by a record 289,498, or 10.7 percent, to 2,993,839, which is the highest level since 2013, the most recent year for which comparable data is available.
In order to solve difficulties with a labor shortage, the government of Japan has gradually loosened its generally rigid immigration laws.
The sharp increase also coincided with the government’s relaxation of its Covid-19 pandemic border controls.
“Decline in the number of children and population is an important issue that involves Japan’s social, economic, and social welfare issues,” top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Wednesday.
The government will work towards “prompting women and elderly people to enter the work-force” through reforms of work styles and labour markets, he said.
The birth rate in the 125 million-person nation dropped to less than 800,000 last year, the lowest number ever recorded, while the price of aged care increased.
In an effort to increase the nation’s declining birthrate, Kishida launched a $25 billion plan to provide support for children and families last month.
