Japan’s Population Falls, Rise in Foreign Residents

As India becomes the most populated country in the world, Japan on the other hand is going through a major population crisis. According to a government data source released on Wednesday, the Japanese population is experiencing a rapid decline all across the nation. As a result, Foreign nationals are filling in for the declining population. 

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications recently released resident registration data which highlights the worrisome condition of the country. The population of Japanese nationals fell by 800,000 people, now bringing to a total of 122.42 million as of January 1, 2024. The Japanese population has been falling consecutively for 14 years since its peak in 2008. For the first time ever, the population decreased in all 47 perfunctionaries of Japan.

Rising Foreign Nationals

The number of foreign nationals living in Japan has also reached a record value of 2.99 million which is a 10.7% increase from the previous year. It is also the biggest increase recorded since the government started tracking the data. Before the unfortunate spread of Covid-19 pandemic, there were 2.87 million foreign nationals residing in Japan. 

Immigrants head towards the country majorly for education and jobs. Most foreign nationals coming to Japan are from China, South Korea and Vietnam. According to reports, more than 40% of foreign nationals have been living in the country for the past three years. Despite the overall decrease in population of the country, Tokyo indicated an increase due to the high influx of foreign nationals.

Government’s Plan of Action

Critically declining population of Japan is an issue of foremost importance for the Government. It has been trying to tackle this issue through various means such as by encouraging more female employment. As mentioned by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the government is formulating new labour market reforms. Moreover, it will maximise employment of women and elderly people to meet the labour demand. 

The Japanese Prime Minister has made declining birth rates a top priority of his government. Despite the looming debt, he has earmarked around 3.5 trillion yen i.e $25 billion per year for child care and other measures as an aid to parents. A major Tokyo-based think-tank forecasted last year that Japan needed four-times of the current foreign citizens by 2040 to fulfil Japan’s economic growth requirements. 

Japan Might Disappear

One of the main causes for the declining population of Japan is severe decrease in childbirth rates. In 2020, twice as many people died as were born. According to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry of Japan, nearly half the households (49.3%) have only one child, 38% have two children and 12.7 households have three or more children. 

Masako Mori, a close aide of PM Fumio Kishida stated that Japan will cease to exist should the prevailing birth rate levels continue to exist in the future. He added that the birth rates are not declining but falling steeply and if the situation does not change, their country will disappear.

Japan being the third largest economy in the world cannot afford a declining population. Nearly 28% of the Asian country is aged 65 years or above. Hence, the shortage of younger people can badly hurt Japan’s economic progress.