119,736,483. That is how many Japanese nationals were living in Japan on Jan. 1, and it is the first count under 120 million in 42 years, according to figures the government’s internal affairs ministry released on July 29.
The drop from a year earlier came to 917,000 people, or 0.76 per cent. No year since comparable data began in 1968 has taken away more. The number of Japanese residents has now fallen for 17 consecutive years, ever since it peaked in 2009.
One prefecture grows
Of Japan’s 47 prefectures, only Tokyo added Japanese nationals, and by a thin 0.09 percent. Everywhere else shrank.
Foreign residents moved the other way. Their ranks rose by 354,000 to 4,031,159, a record since tracking started in 2013. Add them in and the country’s total population stood at 123,767,642, about 563,000 fewer than the year before. Only Tokyo, Chiba and Osaka prefectures showed growth on that wider measure.
The age profile explains much of the squeeze. Japan’s median age is 49.9 years, which the World Bank ranks second worldwide, behind only Monaco.
Births keep falling
Data from June put the total fertility rate, meaning the lifetime average of children per woman, at 1.14 for 2025, down 0.01. That was a record low and the tenth straight annual decline. Babies born in the country numbered just over 670,000, nearly 15,000 fewer than the year before and the lowest total since records began in 1899.
AFP described the fallout as shortages of workers, a swelling pension and welfare bill, and fewer taxpayers to fund it. Japan is the world’s fourth-largest economy, and it is trying to run that economy with fewer people each year.
An app, and 265 weddings
One small bright spot came in July. The Tokyo government said 265 couples had married after meeting through TOKYO Enmusubi, an AI-powered dating app that went live in September 2024. Officials built it after finding that roughly 70 per cent of would-be spouses were sitting out matchmaking altogether.
Entry is not casual. Applicants have to document that they are unmarried, then get through a web interview. Of roughly 36,000 people who applied, 16,000 were registered members as of June 30, 2026, along with 760 couples the government describes as being in serious relationships.
One woman, identified only as “Turtle”, told the government she tried the app “as a last chance” as she neared 40. She met the man who became her husband in late August, they became a couple in mid-September, and she said yes to his proposal as the year ended.
Sources
- Japanese population falls below 120 million | The Straits Times
- Population of Japanese nationals falls below 120 mln for 1st time in 42 years-Xinhua
