Japan's native population falls below 120 million after 42 years

Japan population decline Japanese nationals foreign residents record record low births Tokyo population growth

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported that the number of Japanese nationals living in the country on 1 January 2026 was 119,736,483, a decline of 916,744 people (‑0.76 %). This marks the 17th consecutive year of decline and the first time the native population has fallen below 120 million in 42 years.

Births fell to a record low of about 670,000 in 2025 while deaths reached roughly 1.59 million, creating a natural decrease of 923,000. The foreign‑resident population rose by 353,696 to a record 4,031,159, the highest level since the ministry began tracking it in 2013. Including foreigners, the total population stood at 123,767,642, down about 563,000 from the previous year.

Tokyo was the only prefecture where the Japanese‑national count increased, adding 12,540 people (0.09 %). Seven prefectures recorded net social‑population growth, with Tokyo showing the largest net inflow of 66,661 people. All other 46 prefectures saw declines in native residents.

Entities: Foreign Residents in Japan · Japan · Japanese nationals · Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications · Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Japan) · Tokyo

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 5 SOURCES] Japanese resident population on 1 January fell to 119,736,483, a decline of 916,744 people (‑0.76 %). (Ministry of Internal Affairs data)
[● 5 SOURCES] The combined Japanese and foreign resident population fell by 563,048 to 123,767,642. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] Births in 2025 fell to 670,467, the lowest on record, while deaths reached 1,593,475, creating a natural decrease of 923,008 people. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] Seven prefectures posted net social‑population growth, with Tokyo having the largest net inflow of 66,661 people. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] The decline marks the 17th consecutive year of population decrease in Japan. (internal affairs ministry)
[● 5 SOURCES] Foreign resident population rose to 4,031,159, an increase of 353,696 people (‑9.62%), the highest level since 2013. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] Only Tokyo recorded a rise in Japanese residents, up by 12,540 (0.09%) to 13,293,851; all other prefectures saw declines. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] In 2025 a record 720,988 people moved to Japan, the highest annual inflow on record. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 5 SOURCES] Japanese resident population on Jan 1 was 119,736,483, a decline of 916,744 people (‑0.76%) from the previous year. (internal affairs ministry data)
[● 2 SOURCES] Seven prefectures recorded net social‑population growth; Tokyo had the largest net inflow of 66,661 people. (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
[● 3 SOURCES] Foreign resident population increased by 353,696 to 4,031,159, a record high since 2013. (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
[● 3 SOURCES] The native population decline of 916,744 represents a 0.76 % year‑on‑year drop. (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)