The population of Japan noticeably decreased in 2022, while the number of foreigners living in the country increased to the highest level in the last 10 years, reports the Associated Press citing data from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
According to its information, in 2022 the number of Japanese decreased by 800 thousand people, or 0.65% compared to 2021, and reached 125.41 million people by January 1, 2023. At the same time, the population of Japan fell for the 14th consecutive year.
Asssociated Press notes that for the first time since the collection of such data, the population has decreased in all 47 prefectures of Japan at once.
At the same time, the number of foreigners living in Japan increased – by 10.7%, and this is the highest population growth at the expense of newcomers since 2013. By now, the share of foreigners in Japan’s population is 2.4%.
After 2008, Japan’s population has been steadily declining due to a low birth rate. In the past year, the number of children born in the country was again extremely low – 771.8 thousand.
The current Government of Japan considers the problem of low birth rate to be one of the main issues that need to be addressed.
