TOKYO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The population of Japanese nationals continued its sharp decline in 2024, falling by 908,574 people to 120.65 million as of Jan. 1, 2025, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
This was the 16th consecutive year of decline and the largest annual drop since government records began in 1968, with the total Japanese population now down by over 6.42 million since its 2009 peak.
The primary driver was the widening natural population decrease, with 1,599,850 deaths far outpacing 687,689 births, resulting in a net loss of 912,161 people, according to the data.
Meanwhile, foreign resident population rose 11 percent to a record 3.68 million, surpassing the 3.5 million mark for the first time.
Including foreigners, Japan's total population stood at 124.33 million, down 554,485 from the previous year.
Foreign nationals now account for 2.96 percent of Japan's population, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
The working-age population (15-64 years) held steady at 59.8 percent of the total. While Japan's native working-age population fell by over 500,000, the number of working-age foreigners rose by over 321,000, helping to stabilize the demographic balance, the data showed. ■