Japan's population down by record 644,000 people

Japan's population shrank by a record 644,000 people compared with the previous year and now stands at 125.5 million, including foreigners permanently residing in the country, the Statistics Bureau of Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said on Friday.

The population decreased in 46 of 47 prefectures, with southernmost Okinawa prefecture alone showing growth, according to the report published by the bureau.

Tokyo, in turn, saw its first population drop in 26 years, declining by 40,000 to a total of 14 million people. The ministry cites modest numbers of foreigners entering the country and weak flows of people moving from other provinces to Tokyo as reasons for negative population growth.

Compared to the previous year, the country-wide decrease amounted to 644,000 people, or 0.51%. The population of Japan has been shrinking for 11 consecutive years, but this year's fall is the greatest both in absolute numbers and in percentage terms.

The statistics suggest that the problem of an aging population has not improved either. The share of those over 65 is 28.9% (36.21 million people), the highest ever. Meanwhile, children under 15 represent only 11.8% of the population, or 14.78 million people, the lowest share in history; the same goes for those between 15 and 64, who account for 59.4% of the population.