Tokyo: Japan's total population marked the 15th straight year of decline, according to government data released on Wednesday, dropping by more than half a million (531,700) as the population ages and births remain low. Births remained low at 730,000 last year, while deaths (1.58 million) also reached a record high.
As of January 1, Japan's population was 124.9 million, according to the Internal Affairs Ministry. The data also showed that the 11 per cent increase in foreign residents helped their population surpass 3 million for the first time. They now make up nearly 3 per cent of the total population and are mostly of working age from 15 to 64.
Japan's population peaked at 127 million in 2009 and the births were the lowest since the survey began in 1979. While foreign residents increased in all of the country's 47 prefectures, surpassing 3 million for the first time, only Tokyo saw a slight increase in its Japanese population, according to Japanese media reports.
The demographic crisis has become one of Japan’s most pressing issues, with multiple governments failing to reverse the falling fertility rate and swelling elderly population, according to CNN. More people are dying than being born each year, causing the population to fall rapidly – with far-reaching consequences for Japan’s workforce, economy, welfare systems and social fabric.
Surveys show that younger Japanese are increasingly reluctant to marry or have children, discouraged by bleak job prospects, the high cost of living — which rises at a faster pace than salaries — and a gender-biased corporate culture that adds a burden only on women and working mothers.
The government earmarked 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion) as part of the 2024 budget to fund incentives for young couples to have more children, such as increasing subsidies for childcare and education, and is expected to spend 3.6 trillion yen ($23 billion) in tax money annually over the next three years.
Experts say the measures are largely meant for married couples who plan to have or who already have children, and don't address the growing number of young people reluctant to get married. Japan's population is projected to fall by about 30 per cent, to 87 million by 2070, when four out of every 10 people will be 65 years of age or older.
(AP)
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