TOKYO: Japan’s population dropped by a record 2.5 per cent in the span of five years, census data showed Friday (May 29), as the world’s fourth-largest economy struggles to overcome demographic woes.

A preliminary tally of Japan’s census, released every five years, found that the population slipped to 123 million people in 2025 – more than three million fewer than when the survey was last carried out in 2020.

It was the biggest decrease since the twice-a-decade survey started in 1920, and more than triple the decline recorded between 2015 and 2020.

The data “once again confirmed the population decline in our nation is deepening”, top government spokesman Minoru Kihara told reporters.

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Japan has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and an ageing population.

While immigration is often floated as a solution to Japan’s shrinking demographic, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing for tougher measures against an inflow of foreigners.

Official data showed that the number of births in Japan fell for the 10th straight year in 2025, with a total of 705,809 babies born.

Central and local government officials have tried with limited success in recent years to incentivise marriage and childbirth, from launching dating apps to boosting child-rearing allowances and subsidising parental leave.