Overview

• The number of Japanese nationals shrank by 908,574 last year to 120.65 million, marking the steepest annual drop on record.
• Births dipped below 700,000 for the first time with just 686,061 infants delivered in 2024.
• Deaths climbed to nearly 1.6 million, creating a gap of almost one million between deaths and births.
• Citizens aged 65 and older account for almost 30 percent of the population while those aged 15–64 make up only 59 percent.
• Government measures include expanded childcare support, paternity leave reforms and eased immigration rules to grow the foreign workforce by 2040.