{"id":83429,"date":"2021-07-06T14:56:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T05:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=83429"},"modified":"2022-07-22T17:21:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T08:21:29","slug":"japan-population-demographics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/japan-population-demographics\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Population: How are the Demographics Evolving?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan may be the world\u2019s third-largest economy and a pioneer in technology, but its population is shrinking. What are the social and economic consequences of this demographic decline, and what kind of solutions is the government seeking to implement? Let\u2019s take a closer look at Japan\u2019s population with the 2020 census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Many People Live in Japan?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In January 2021, the population of Japan is estimated at 125.57 million residents.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"aerial
Shibuya crossing in Tokyo \u23aa Photograph: Daryan Shamkhali on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Every five years, the Japanese government conducts a national census of its population. The last census was done in October 2020.<\/strong> It covers all residents of Japan, including foreigners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illustration<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How is Japan\u2019s Population Evolving?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the past decade, Japan\u2019s population has been decreasing every year<\/strong>. Since it peaked at 128 million in 2010, it has dropped by about 2 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to projections, this decline will continue and even accelerate in the coming years<\/strong>. Japan\u2019s population is expected to fall to under 100 million by the 2050s and less than 90 million by the 2060s. By the year 2100, Japan may well lose half of its current population. As the number of births has decreased for the past several decades, and this trend is not expected to rebound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"multi-generational<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As we will see, the reasons for this population decline originate at the extremities of Japan\u2019s inverted age pyramid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertility Rate: Flagging Births in Japan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first problem is that Japan\u2019s fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world: 1.36 children per woman<\/strong> in 2020. Even with a slight increase since 2005, this rate is hardly enough to renew entire generations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n