Demography of Japan

Changes in Japan's population.

Japanese birth and death rates since 1950. The drop in 1966 was due to it being a "hinoe uma" year which is viewed as a bad omen by the Japanese Zodiac.

The demographic features of the population of Japan include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects regarding the population.

Based on the census from October 2010, Japan's population was at one of its peaks – 128,057,352. As of March 2012 the population estimate was 127,650,000 making it the world's tenth-most populous country at the time. However, both the United Nations Population Division and the Population Reference Bureau estimated that Mexico overtook Japan in terms of population by mid-2015. Current statistics do not indicate much difference in population numbers. Japan's population size can be attributed to high growth rates experienced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In recent years, Japan has experienced net population loss due to falling birth rates and almost no immigration, despite having one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 81.25 years of age as of 2006. Using the annual estimate for October of each year, the population peaked in 2008 at 128,083,960 and had fallen 285,256 by October 2011. Japan's population density was 336 people per square kilometer.

Based on 2012 data from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan's population will keep declining by about one million people every year in the coming decades, which will leave Japan with a population of 86 million in 2060. By that time, more than 40% of the population is expected to be over age 65. In 2012, the population had for six consecutive years declined by 212,000, the largest drop on record since 1947 and also a record low of 1.03 million births. In 2014, a new record of population drop happened with 268,000 people. In 2013, more than 20 percent of the population are age 65 and over.

The population ranking of Japan dropped from 7th to 8th in 1990, to 9th in 1998, and to 10th in the early 21st century. In 2015 it dropped further to 11th place, according both to UN and PRB.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1910	50,984,840	—
1915	54,935,755	+7.7%
1920	55,963,053	+1.9%
1925	59,736,822	+6.7%
1930	64,450,005	+7.9%
1935	69,254,148	+7.5%
1940	73,075,071	+5.5%
1945	71,998,104	−1.5%
1950	83,199,637	+15.6%
1955	89,275,529	+7.3%
1960	93,418,501	+4.6%
1965	98,274,961	+5.2%
1970	103,720,060	+5.5%
1975	111,939,643	+7.9%
1980	117,060,396	+4.6%
1985	121,048,923	+3.4%
1990	123,611,167	+2.1%
1995	125,570,246	+1.6%
2000	126,925,843	+1.1%
2005	127,767,994	+0.7%
2010	128,057,352	+0.2%
2014	127,220,000	−0.7%

Population

Japanese population density map per prefecture as of 2009 per square kilometer

  0–100

  101–200

  201–300

  301–400

  401–500

  500–1000

  1000–5514

Census

Japan collects census information every five years. The exercise is conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Population density

Japan's population density was 336 people per square kilometer according to the UN World Populations Prospects as of July 2005. It ranks 37th in a list of countries by population density, ranking directly above India (336 per km²) and directly below Belgium (341 per km²). Between 1955 and 1989, land prices in the six largest cities increased 15,000% (+12% a year). Urban land prices generally increased 40% from 1980 to 1987; in the six largest cities, the price of land doubled over that period. For many families, this trend put housing in central cities out of reach.

The result was lengthy commutes for many workers in the big cities, especially in Tokyo area where daily commutes of two hours each way are common. In 1991, as the bubble economy started to collapse, land prices began a steep decline, and within a few years fell 60% below their peak. After a decade of declining land prices, residents began moving back into central city areas (especially Tokyo's 23 wards), as evidenced by 2005 census figures. Despite nearly 70% of Japan being covered by forests, parks in many major cities—especially Tokyo and Osaka—are smaller and scarcer than in major West European or North American cities. As of 2014, parkland per inhabitant in Tokyo is 5.78 square meters, which is roughly half of the 11.5 square meters of Madrid.

National and regional governments devote resources to making regional cities and rural areas more attractive by developing transportation networks, social services, industry, and educational institutions in attempts to decentralize settlement and improve the quality of life. Nevertheless, major cities, especially Tokyo, Yokohama, and Chiba, and to a lesser extent Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, remain attractive to young people seeking education and jobs.

Urban distribution

Japan has a high population concentration in urban areas on the plains since 75% of Japan’s land area is made up of mountains, and also Japan has a forest cover rate of 68.5% (the other developed countries with such a high forest cover percentage are only Finland and Sweden). The 2012 census shows 90.7% of the total Japanese population live in cities.

Japan is an urban society with about only 5% of the labor force working in agriculture. Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population is heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu.

Metropolitan Tokyo-Yokohama, with its population of 35 million residents, is the world's most populous city. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: overcrowded cities and congested highways.

Aging of Japan

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1888-12-31

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1920-10-01 (1st national census of population)

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1940-10-01 (5th national census of population)

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1950-10-01 (7th national census of population)

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1975-10-01 (12th national census of population)

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 2000-10-01 (17th national census of population)

Population of Japan by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 2010-10-01 (19th national census of population)

Main article: Aging of Japan

Like other postindustrial countries, Japan faces the benefits as well as potential drawbacks associated with an aging population. While countries with young populations may wrestle with problems of crime, poverty, and social unrest, countries with older populations often enjoy higher standards of living. However, the demographic shift in Japan's age profile has triggered concerns about the nation's economic future and the viability of its welfare state. In 1989, only 11.6% of the population was 65 years or older, but by 2007, that figure had risen to 21.2%, making Japan one of the "greyest" countries.

Overview of the changing age distribution 1935–2010

Year	Total population (census; in thousands)	Population by age (%)
		0–14	15–64	65+
1935	69,254	36.9	58.5	4.7
1940	73,075	36.1	59.2	5.7
1945	71,998	36.8	58.1	5.1
1950	84,115	35.4	59.6	4.9
1955	90,077	33.4	61.2	5.3
1960	94,302	30.2	64.1	5.7
1965	99,209	25.7	68.0	6.3
1970	104,665	24.0	68.9	7.1
1975	111,940	24.3	67.7	7.9
1980	117,060	23.5	67.3	9.1
1985	121,049	21.5	68.2	10.3
1990	123,611	18.2	69.5	12.0
1995	125,570	15.9	69.4	14.5
2000	126,962	14.6	67.9	17.3
2005	127,768	13.7	65.8	20.1
2010	128,058	13.2	63.7	23.1

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.10.2010) (Census) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	62 327 737	65 729 615	128 057 352	100
0-4	2 710 581	2 586 167	5 296 748	4,14
5-9	2 859 805	2 725 856	5 585 661	4,36
10-14	3 031 943	2 889 092	5 921 035	4,62
15-19	3 109 229	2 954 128	6 063 357	4,73
20-24	3 266 240	3 160 193	6 426 433	5,02
25-29	3 691 723	3 601 978	7 293 701	5,70
30-34	4 221 011	4 120 486	8 341 497	6,51
35-39	4 950 122	4 836 227	9 786 349	7,64
40-44	4 400 375	4 341 490	8 741 865	6,83
45-49	4 027 969	4 005 147	8 033 116	6,27
50-54	3 809 576	3 834 923	7 644 499	5,97
55-59	4 287 489	4 376 245	8 663 734	6,77
60-64	4 920 468	5 116 781	10 037 249	7,84
65-69	3 921 774	4 288 399	8 210 173	6,41
70-74	3 225 503	3 737 799	6 963 302	5,44
75-79	2 582 940	3 358 073	5 941 013	4,64
80-84	1 692 584	2 643 680	4 336 264	3,39
85-89	744 222	1 688 366	2 432 588	1,90
90-94	241 799	779 908	1 021 707	0,80
95-99	55 739	241 017	296 756	0,23
100+	5 851	38 031	43 882	0,03
unknown	570 794	405 629	976 423	0,76

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	8 602 329	8 201 115	16 803 444	13,12
15-64	40 684 202	40 347 598	81 031 800	63,28
65+	12 470 412	16 775 273	29 245 685	22,84

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates based on the complete counts of the 2010 Population Census) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	61 918 000	65 420 000	127 339 000	100
0-4	2 686 000	2 557 000	5 243 000	4,12
5-9	2 753 000	2 627 000	5 380 000	4,22
10-14	2 983 000	2 839 000	5 821 000	4,57
15-19	3 099 000	2 950 000	6 049 000	4,75
20-24	3 197 000	3 042 000	6 239 000	4,90
25-29	3 526 000	3 388 000	6 914 000	5,43
30-34	3 890 000	3 782 000	7 672 000	6,02
35-39	4 636 000	4 513 000	9 150 000	7,19
40-44	4 860 000	4 756 000	9 616 000	7,55
45-49	4 188 000	4 143 000	8 331 000	6,54
50-54	3 860 000	3 858 000	7 718 000	6,06
55-59	3 859 000	3 914 000	7 773 000	6,10
60-64	4 804 000	4 993 000	9 797 000	7,69
65-69	4 138 000	4 472 000	8 610 000	6,76
70-74	3 482 000	3 997 000	7 479 000	5,87
75-79	2 775 000	3 537 000	6 312 000	4,96
80-84	1 879 000	2 867 000	4 747 000	3,73
85+	1 302 000	3 184 000	4 486 000	3,52

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	8 422 000	8 023 000	16 445 000	12,91
15-64	39 920 000	39 340 000	79 260 000	62,24
65+	13 576 000	18 057 000	31 633 000	24,84

Demographic statistics from the CIA World Factbook

Population

Population in 5 households, 78.7% in urban areas (July 2000). High population density; 329.5 persons per square kilometer for total area; 1,523 persons per square kilometer for habitable land. More than 50% of population lives on 2% of land. (July 1993)

Sex ratio

(2010 est.)

at birth: 1.056 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female

(2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

people living with HIV/AIDS

9,600 (2007 est.)

12,000 (2003 est.)

deaths

fewer than 100 (2007 est.)

500 (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups of Japan

As of July 2015 98.5% of the population is ethnic Japanese, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, others made up 0.6%. The Japanese census asked respondents their nationality rather than to identify by ethnic group as other countries do. For example, the United Kingdom census asks for ethnic or racial background, regardless of nationality. Naturalized Japanese citizens and native-born Japanese nationals with multi-ethnic background are considered to be ethnically Japanese in the population census of Japan.

Thus, in spite of the widespread belief that Japan is ethnically homogeneous, at least one academic recommends describing it as a multiethnic society. Within Japan, a distinction between "Polynesian-type" (that is, those with darker skin and rounder eyes) Jomon and "continental-type" (lighter skin and narrower eyes) Yayoi is sometimes observed, although the popular shorthand does not reflect the observed 90% Yayoi / 10% Jomon haploid-group frequency of modern Japanese DNA.

Marital status

Over 15: Never married Male 61.8%, Female 58.2%.

16–24: Never married Male 31.8%, Female 23.7%.

25–29: Never married Male 69.3%, Female 54.0%.

30–34: Never married Male 42.9%, Female 26.6% (July 2000).

Family and sex

According to a government survey, more than a quarter of unmarried men and women between the ages of 30 and 34 are virgins. Fifty percent of men and women in Japan said they were not "going out with anyone".

Vital statistics

Live births, birth and death rates and overall fertility rate in Japan from 1899 to present.

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate (per 1000 births)	Life expectancy (males)	Life expectancy (females)
1899		1386 981			32.0	21.5	10.5	6.33	153.8
1900	43 847	1470 000	916 000	554 000	31.7	20.4	12.6	6.25	155.0
1901	44 359	1557 000	931 000	626 000	33.1	20.4	14.1	6.21	149.9
1902	44 964	1570 000	965 000	605 000	32.9	20.9	13.5	6.16	154.0
1903	45 546	1552 000	936 000	616 000	32.0	20.0	13.5	6.09	152.4
1904	46 135	1500 000	1005 000	495 000	30.6	21.2	10.7	6.04	151.9
1905	46 620	1517 000	1047 000	470 000	30.6	21.9	10.1	5.97	151.7
1906	47 038	1461 000	962 000	499 000	29.0	20.0	10.6	5.69	153.6
1907	47 416	1685 000	1025 000	660 000	33.2	21.0	13.9	5.72	151.3
1908	47 965	1734 000	1037 000	697 000	33.7	20.9	14.5	5.79	158.0
1909	48 554	1766 000	1098 000	668 000	33.9	21.9	13.8	5.71	167.3
1910	49 184	1782 000	1071 000	711 000	33.9	21.1	14.5	5.63	161.2
1911	49 852	1821 000	1050 000	771 000	34.1	20.4	15.5		158.4
1912	50 577	1817 000	1044 000	773 000	33.4	20.0	15.3		154.2
1913	51 305	1835 000	1035 000	800 000	33.3	19.5	15.6		152.1
1914	52 039	1883 000	1109 000	774 000	33.8	20.6	14.9		158.5
1915	52 752	1872 000	1110 000	762 000	33.2	20.2	14.4		160.4
1916	53 496	1873 000	1196 000	677 000	32.9	21.6	12.7		170.3
1917	54 134	1883 000	1208 000	675 000	32.7	21.6	12.5		173.2
1918	54 739	1856 000	1503 000	353 000	32.2	26.7	6.4		188.6
1919	55 033	1850 000	1290 000	560 000	31.6	22.8	10.2	6.27	170.5
1920	55 963	2105 000	1431 000	674 000	36.2	25.4	12.0	6.45	165.7
1921	56 666	1991 000	1289 000	702 000	35.1	22.7	12.4	6.38	168.3
1922	57 390	1969 000	1287 000	682 000	34.3	22.4	11.9		166.4
1923	58 119	2043 000	1332 000	711 000	35.2	22.9	12.2		163.4
1924	58 876	1999 000	1255 000	744 000	33.9	21.3	12.6		156.2
1925	59 737	2080 000	1211 000	869 000	34.9	20.3	14.5	5.10	142.4
1926	60 741	2104 000	1161 000	943 000	34.6	19.1	15.5		137.5
1927	61 659	2061 000	1214 000	847 000	33.4	19.7	13.7		141.6
1928	62 595	2136 000	1237 000	899 000	34.1	19.8	14.4		136.7
1929	63 461	2077 000	1261 000	816 000	32.7	19.9	12.9		142.1
1930	64 450	2085 000	1171 000	914 000	32.4	18.2	14.2	4.70	124.1
1931	65 457	2103 000	1241 000	862 000	32.1	19.0	13.2		131.5
1932	65 800	2165 000	1165 000	1000 000	32.9	17.7	15.2		117.5
1933	66 790	2104 000	1182 000	922 000	31.5	17.7	13.8		121.3
1934	67 680	2028 289	1225 402	802 887	29.9	18.1	11.9		124.8
1935	68 662	2174 291	1152 371	1021 920	31.6	16.8	14.9		106.7
1936	69 590	2086 355	1220 023	866 332	30.0	17.5	12.4		116.7	46.92	49.63
1937	70 360	2164 949	1198 400	966 549	30.9	17.1	13.7		105.8
1938	70 590	1911 966	1250 093	661 873	27.2	17.7	9.4		114.4
1939	70 930	1885 957	1258 514	627 443	26.6	17.8	8.8		106.2
1940	71 540	2100 164	1176 517	923 647	29.4	16.4	12.9	4.11	90.0
1941	72 750	2260 270	1140 428	1119 842	31.1	15.7	15.4		84.1
1942	73 450	2216 271	1157 845	1058 426	30.3	15.8	14.4		85.5
1943	73 980	2235 431	1204 802	1030 629	30.3	16.3	13.9		86.6
1944	73 865	2149 843	1279 639	870 204	29.2	17.4	11.8
1945	72 410	1685 583	2113 798	-428 215	23.2	29.2	-5.9	3.25
1946	75 300	1905 809	1326 592	579 217	25.3	17.6	7.7	4.46
1947	78 025	2678 792	1138 238	1540 554	34.3	14.6	19.7	4.54	76.7	50.06	53.96
1948	79 500	2681 624	950 610	1731 014	33.7	12.0	21.8	4.40	61.7	55.6	59.4
1949	81 300	2696 638	945 444	1751 194	33.2	11.6	21.5	4.32	62.5	56.2	59.8
1950	82 900	2337 507	904 876	1432 631	28.2	10.9	17.3	3.65	60.1	58.0	61.5
1951	84 235	2137 689	838 998	1298 691	25.4	10.0	15.4	3.26	57.5	59.57	62.97
1952	85 503	2005 162	765 068	1240 094	23.5	8.9	14.5	2.98	49.4	61.9	65.5
1953	86 695	1868 040	772 547	1095 493	21.5	8.9	12.6	2.69	48.9	61.9	65.7
1954	87 976	1769 580	721 491	1048 089	20.1	8.2	11.9	2.48	44.6	63.41	67.69
1955	89 020	1730 692	693 523	1037 169	19.4	7.8	11.7	2.37	39.8	63.60	67.75
1956	89 953	1665 278	724 460	940 818	18.5	8.1	10.5	2.22	40.6	63.59	67.54
1957	90 734	1566 713	752 445	814 268	17.3	8.3	9.0	2.04	40.0	63.24	67.60
1958	91 546	1653 469	684 189	969 280	18.1	7.5	10.6	2.11	34.5	64.98	69.61
1959	92 434	1626 088	689 959	936 129	17.6	7.5	10.1	2.04	33.7	65.21	69.88
1960	94 094	1627 939	711 230	916 709	17.3	7.6	9.7	2.00	30.7	65.32	70.19
1961	94 943	1611 772	700 459	911 313	17.0	7.4	9.6	2.05	28.6	66.03	70.79
1962	95 832	1639 631	715 163	924 468	17.1	7.5	9.6	2.01	26.4	66.23	71.16
1963	96 812	1681 242	675 721	1005 521	17.4	7.0	10.4	2.02	23.2	67.21	72.34
1964	97 826	1737 277	678 104	1059 173	17.8	6.9	10.8	2.05	20.4	67.67	72.87
1965	98 883	1844 452	705 363	1139 089	18.7	7.1	11.5	2.14	18.5	67.74	72.92
1966	99 790	1378 968	675 351	703 617	13.8	6.8	7.1	1.58	19.3	68.35	73.61
1967	100 725	1956 725	679 797	1276 928	19.4	6.7	12.7	2.02	14.9	68.91	74.15
1968	102 061	1893 219	691 647	1201 572	18.5	6.8	11.8	2.13	15.3	69.05	74.30
1969	103 172	1910 927	698 669	1212 258	18.5	6.8	11.7	2.13	14.2	69.18	74.67
1970	104 345	1955 277	718 135	1237 142	18.7	6.9	11.9	2.14	13.1	69.31	74.66
1971	105 697	2022 204	689 542	1332 662	19.1	6.5	12.6	2.16	12.4	70.17	75.58
1972	107 188	2059 533	688 788	1370 745	19.2	6.4	12.8	2.14	11.7	70.50	75.94
1973	108 709	2091 983	709 416	1382 567	19.2	6.5	12.7	2.14	11.3	70.70	76.02
1974	110 162	2029 989	710 510	1319 479	18.4	6.4	12.0	2.05	10.8	71.16	76.31
1975	111 573	1901 440	702 275	1199 165	17.0	6.3	10.7	1.91	10.0	71.73	76.89
1976	112 775	1832 617	703 270	1129 347	16.3	6.2	10.0	1.85	9.3	72.15	77.35
1977	113 872	1755 100	690 074	1065 026	15.4	6.1	9.4	1.80	8.9	72.69	77.95
1978	114 913	1708 643	695 821	1012 822	14.9	6.1	8.8	1.79	8.4	72.97	78.33
1979	115 890	1642 580	689 664	952 916	14.2	6.0	8.2	1.77	7.9	73.46	78.89
1980	116 807	1576 889	722 801	854 088	13.5	6.2	7.3	1.75	7.5	73.35	78.76
1981	117 661	1529 455	720 262	809 193	13.0	6.1	6.9	1.74	7.1	73.79	79.13
1982	118 480	1515 392	711 883	803 509	12.8	6.0	6.8	1.77	6.6	74.22	79.66
1983	119 307	1508 687	740 038	768 649	12.6	6.2	6.4	1.80	6.2	74.20	79.78
1984	120 083	1489 786	740 247	749 539	12.4	6.2	6.2	1.81	6.0	74.54	80.18
1985	120 837	1431 577	752 283	679 294	11.8	6.2	5.6	1.76	5.5	74.78	80.48
1986	121 482	1382 976	750 620	632 356	11.4	6.2	5.2	1.72	5.2	75.23	80.93
1987	122 069	1346 658	751 172	595 486	11.0	6.2	4.9	1.69	5.0	75.61	81.39
1988	122 578	1314 006	793 014	520 992	10.7	6.5	4.3	1.66	4.8	75.54	81.30
1989	123 069	1246 802	788 594	458 208	10.1	6.4	3.7	1.57	4.6	75.91	81.77
1990	123 478	1221 585	820 305	401 280	9.9	6.6	3.2	1.54	4.6	75.92	81.90
1991	123 964	1223 245	829 797	393 448	9.9	6.7	3.2	1.53	4.4	76.11	82.11
1992	124 425	1208 989	856 643	352 346	9.7	6.9	2.8	1.50	4.5	76.09	82.22
1993	124 829	1188 282	878 532	309 750	9.5	7.0	2.5	1.46	4.3	76.25	82.51
1994	125 178	1238 328	875 933	362 395	9.9	7.0	2.9	1.50	4.2	76.57	82.98
1995	125 472	1187 064	922 139	264 925	9.5	7.3	2.1	1.42	4.3	76.38	82.85
1996	125 757	1206 555	896 211	310 344	9.6	7.1	2.4	1.43	3.8	77.01	83.59
1997	126 057	1209 000	921 000	288 000	9.6	7.3	2.3	1.39	3.7	77.19	83.82
1998	126 400	1215 000	933 000	282 000	9.6	7.4	2.2	1.38	3.6	77.16	84.01
1999	126 631	1197 000	985 000	212 000	9.5	7.8	1.7	1.34	3.4	77.10	83.99
2000	126 843	1194 000	968 000	226 000	9.4	7.6	1.8	1.36	3.2	77.72	84.60
2001	127 130	1185 000	966 000	219 000	9.3	7.6	1.7	1.33	3.1	78.07	84.93
2002	127 386	1176 000	980 000	196 000	9.2	7.7	1.5	1.32	3.0	78.32	85.23
2003	127 670	1139 000	1023 000	116 000	8.9	8.0	0.9	1.29	3.0	78.36	85.33
2004	127 680	1126 000	1024 000	102 000	8.8	8.0	0.8	1.29	2.8	78.64	85.59
2005	127 760	1087 000	1078 000	9 000	8.5	8.4	0.1	1.26	2.8	78.56	85.52
2006	127 710	1092 674	1084 450	8 224	8.6	8.5	0.1	1.32	2.6	79.00	85.81
2007	127 750	1101 000	1103 000	-2 000	8.6	8.6	-0.0	1.34	2.6	79.19	85.99
2008	127 680	1108 000	1142 000	-34 000	8.7	8.9	-0.3	1.37	2.6	79.29	86.05
2009	127 550	1087 000	1146 000	-59 000	8.5	9.0	-0.5	1.37	2.4	79.59	86.44
2010	127 430	1083 000	1189 000	-105 000	8.5	9.5	-1.0	1.39	2.3	79.64	86.39
2011	127 770	1050 806	1253 066	-202 260	8.3	9.8	-1.5	1.39	2.3	79.44	85.90
2012	127 400	1037 101	1256 254	-219 153	8.2	9.9	-1.7	1.41	2.2	79.94	86.41
2013	127 150	1030 000	1268 000	-244 000	8.1	10.0	-1.9	1.43	2.1	80.21	86.61
2014	127 083	1001 000	1269 000	-268 000	7.9	10.0	-2.1	1.42		80.50	86.83
2015	126 880	1004 000

2012 (and 2011) update:

Total fertility rate

Japan's total fertility rate (TFR) in 2012 was estimated at 1.41 children per woman, increasing slightly from 1.32 in the 2001–05 period. In 2012, the highest TFR was 1.90, in Okinawa, and the lowest was 1.09, in Tokyo. TFR by prefecture for 2000–05, as well as future estimates, have been released.

Migration

Internal migration

Between 6 million and 7 million people moved their residences each year during the 1980s. About 50% of these moves were within the same prefecture; the others were relocations from one prefecture to another. During Japan's economic development in the twentieth century, and especially during the 1950s and 1960s, migration was characterized by urbanization as people from rural areas in increasing numbers moved to the larger metropolitan areas in search of better jobs and education. Out-migration from rural prefectures continued in the late 1980s, but more slowly than in previous decades.

In the 1980s, government policy provided support for new urban development away from the large cities, particularly Tokyo, and assisted regional cities to attract young people to live and work there. Regional cities offered familiarity to those from nearby areas, lower costs of living, shorter commutes, and, in general, a more relaxed lifestyle than could be had in larger cities. Young people continued to move to large cities, however, to attend universities and find work, but some returned to regional cities (a pattern known as U-turn) or to their prefecture of origin (a pattern referred to as "J-turn").

Government statistics show that in the 1980s significant numbers of people left the largest central cities (Tokyo and Osaka) to move to suburbs within their metropolitan areas. In 1988 more than 500,000 people left Tokyo, which experienced a net loss through migration of nearly 73,000 for the year. Osaka had a net loss of nearly 36,000 in the same year.

The prefectures showing the highest net growth are located near the major urban centers, such as Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, and Kanagawa around Tokyo, and Hyogo, Nara, and Shiga near Osaka and Kyoto. This pattern suggests a process of suburbanization, people moving away from the cities for affordable housing but still commuting there for work and recreation, rather than a true decentralization. More people in Japan like to live near coastal areas because they are easier to travel around in than the mountainous interior.

Emigration

Main article: Japanese diaspora

About 663,300 Japanese were living abroad, approximately 75,000 of whom had permanent foreign residency, more than six times the number who had that status in 1975. More than 200,000 Japanese went abroad in 1990 for extended periods of study, research, or business assignments. As the government and private corporations have stressed internationalization, greater numbers of individuals have been directly affected, decreasing Japan's historical insularity. By the late 1980s, these problems, particularly the bullying of returnee children in schools, had become a major public issue both in Japan and in Japanese communities abroad.

Immigration

Main article: Immigration to Japan

According to the Japanese immigration centre, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased, and the number of foreign residents (excluding a small number of illegal immigrants and short-term visitors, such as foreign nationals staying less than 90 days in Japan), exceeded 2.2 million people in 2008.

In 2010, the number of foreigners in Japan was 2,134,151. This includes 209,373 Filipinos, many of whom are married to Japanese nationals, 210,032 Brazilians, the majority possessing some degree of Japanese ancestry, 687,156 Chinese and 565,989 Koreans. Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Brazilians account for about 69.5% of foreign residents in Japan.

The number of naturalizations peaked in 2008 at 16,000, declining to over 9,000 in the most recent year for which data are available. Most of the decline is accounted for by a steep reduction in the number of Japan-born Koreans taking Japanese citizenship. Historically the bulk of those taking Japanese citizenship have not been foreign-born immigrants but rather Japanese-born descendants of Koreans and Taiwanese who lost their citizenship in the Japanese Empire in 1947 as part of the American Occupation policy for Japan.

Japanese statistical authorities do not collect information on ethnicity, only nationality. As a result, both native and naturalized Japanese citizens are counted in a single group. Although official statistics show near homogeneity, it is in one sense possible to describe the population as “multi-ethnic”, although unofficial statistics still show that ethnic minorities are small compared with many other countries.

Languages

The Japanese society of Yamato people is linguistically homogeneous with small populations of Koreans (0.9 million), Chinese/Taiwanese (0.65 million), Filipino (306,000 some being Japanese Filipino; children of Japanese and Filipino parentage). Brazilians (300,000, many of whom are ethnically Japanese) as well as Peruvians and Argentineans of both Latin American and Japanese descent. Japan has indigenous minority groups such as the Ainu and Ryukyuans, who generally speak Japanese.

Japanese citizenship is conferred jus sanguinis, and monolingual Japanese-speaking minorities often reside in Japan for generations under permanent residency status without acquiring citizenship in their country of birth, although legally they are allowed to do so. This is because Japanese law does not recognise dual citizenship, and so people becoming naturalised Japanese citizens must relinquish citizenship of other countries. Some ethnic Koreans and Chinese and their descendants (who may speak only Japanese and may never have even visited the country whose nationality they hold) do not wish to abandon this other citizenship.

In addition, people taking Japanese citizenship must take a name using the Japanese character sets hiragana, katakana, and/or kanji. Names using Western alphabet, Korean characters, Arabic characters, etc. are not acceptable as legal names. Chinese characters are usually legally acceptable as nearly all Chinese characters are recognized as valid by the Japanese government. Transliterations of non-Japanese names using katakana (e.g. スミス　"Sumisu" for "Smith") are also legally acceptable.

However, some naturalizing foreigners feel that becoming a Japanese citizen should mean that they have a Japanese name and that they should abandon their foreign name, and some foreign residents do not wish to do this—although most "special permanent resident" Koreans and Chinese already use Japanese names. Nonetheless, some 10,000 Zainichi Koreans naturalize every year. Approximately 98.6% of the population are Japanese citizens, and 99% of the population speak Japanese as their first language. Non-ethnic Japanese in the past, and to an extent in the present, also live in small numbers in the Japanese archipelago.

Society

Lifestyle

See also: Suicide in Japan

Japanese people enjoy a high standard of living, and nearly 90% of the population consider themselves part of the middle class. However, many studies on happiness and satisfaction with life tend to find that Japanese people average relatively low levels of life satisfaction and happiness when compared with most of the highly developed world; the levels have remained consistent if not declining slightly over the last half century. Japanese have been surveyed to be relatively lacking in financial satisfaction.

The suicide rates per 100,000 in Japan in 2009 were 29.2 for men and 10.5 for women. In 2010, 32,000 Japanese committed suicide, which translates to an average of 88 Japanese suicides a day in 2010.

Minorities

Main article: Ethnic issues in Japan

Hisabetsu Buraku

Main article: Burakumin

Three native Japanese minority groups can be identified. The largest are the hisabetsu buraku or "discriminated communities", also known as the burakumin. These descendants of premodern outcast hereditary occupational groups, such as butchers, leatherworkers, funeral directors, and certain entertainers, may be considered a Japanese analog of India's Dalits. Discrimination against these occupational groups arose historically because of Buddhist prohibitions against killing and Shinto notions of pollution, as well as governmental attempts at social control.

During the Tokugawa period, such people were required to live in special buraku and, like the rest of the population, were bound by sumptuary laws based on the inheritance of social class. The Meiji government abolished most derogatory names applied to these discriminated communities in 1871, but the new laws had little effect on the social discrimination faced by the former outcasts and their descendants. The laws, however, did eliminate the economic monopoly they had over certain occupations. The buraku continued to be treated as social outcasts and some casual interactions with the majority caste were perceived taboo until the era after World War II.

Estimates of their number range from 2 to 4 million (about 2% to 3% of the national population). Although members of these discriminated communities are physically indistinguishable from other Japanese, they often live in urban ghettoes or in the traditional special hamlets in rural areas, and membership can be surmised from the location of the family home, occupation, dialect, or mannerisms. Checks on family background designed to ferret out buraku were commonly performed as part of marriage arrangments and employment applications, but have been illegal since 1985 in Osaka.

Past and current discrimination has resulted in lower educational attainment and socioeconomic status among hisabetsu buraku than among the majority of Japanese. Movements with objectives ranging from "liberation" to encouraging integration have tried to change this situation, with some success. Nadamoto Masahisa of the Buraku History Institute estimates that as of 1998, between 60 and 80% of burakumin marry a non-burakumin.

Ryukyuans

The second largest minority group among Japanese citizens is the Ryukyuan people. They are primarily distinguished from their use of several distinct Ryukyuan languages though use of Ryukyuan is dying out. The Ryukyuan people and language originated in the Ryukyu Islands, which are in Okinawa prefecture.

Ainu

The third largest minority group among Japanese citizens is the Ainu, whose language is an isolate. Historically, the Ainu were an indigenous hunting and gathering population who occupied most of northern Honshū as late as the Nara period (A.D. 710–94). As Japanese settlement expanded, the Ainu were pushed northward, by the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ainu were pushed into the island of Hokkaido.

Characterized as remnants of a primitive circumpolar culture, the fewer than 20,000 Ainu in 1990 were considered racially distinct and thus not fully Japanese. Disease and a low birth rate had severely diminished their numbers over the past two centuries, and intermarriage had brought about an almost completely mixed population.

Although no longer in daily use, the Ainu language is preserved in epics, songs, and stories transmitted orally over succeeding generations. Distinctive rhythmic music and dances and some Ainu festivals and crafts are preserved, but mainly in order to take advantage of tourism.

Foreign residents

Transition of Numbers of Registered Foreigners in Japan from 5 Major Countries

Age and Sex Distribution of Major Foreigners in Japan.

See also: Koreans in Japan, Chinese people in Japan, Brazilians in Japan, Filipinos in Japan, Americans in Japan, Mongolians in Japan, Indians in Japan, Iranians in Japan, Russians in Japan, Pakistanis in Japan, Bangladeshis in Japan, Turks in Japan, Vietnamese people in Japan, Indonesians in Japan, and Japanese Peruvian

In 2005, there were 1,555,505 foreign residents in Japan, representing 1.22% of the Japanese population. Foreign Army personnel, of which there have been up 430,000 from the US and 40,000 BCOF in the immediate post-war years, are not included in the Japanese statistics of foreigners, nor is such personnel subject to local immigration controls. Particularly the US bases and the culture transmitted through them had a significant influence on Japanese fashions.

Most Koreans in Japan today have never been to the Korean Peninsula and do not speak Korean. A significant portion of these foreign residents are the descendants of Illegal immigration of Koreans, a limited number of whom hold a special residence status, granted under the terms of the Normalisation Treaty (22. June 1965) between South Korea and Japan. In many cases special residents, despite being born in Japan and only speaking Japanese, have chosen not to take advantage of Japan's mostly automatic granting of citizenship to special resident applicants.

Beginning in 1947 the Japanese government started a deport those illegal Korean aliens, who were Japanese subjects. In particular, refugees from the massacres conducted by the Korean forces in what is termed the Jeju Uprising, were treated as "smugglers" and frequently forcibly returned to Korea. When the Treaty of San Francisco came into force all ethnic Koreans lost their Japanese citizenship and with it the right to welfare grants, to hold a government job of any kind or to attend Japanese schools. In the following year the government contrived, with the help of the Red Cross, a scheme to "repatriate" Korean residents, who mainly were from the Southern Provinces, to their "home" of North Korea. Between 1959 and 1984 93,430 people used this route. 6,737 were Japanese or Chinese dependents. Most of these departures – 78,276 – occurred before 1962.

File:Foreigners in Japan in 2000 by citizenship.svg

All non-Japanese without special residential status (people whose residential roots go back to before WWII) are required by law to register with the government and carry alien registration cards. From the early 1980s, a civil disobedience movement encouraged refusal of the fingerprinting that accompanied registration every five years.

Opponents of fingerprinting argued that it was discriminatory because the only Japanese who were fingerprinted were criminals. The courts upheld fingerprinting, but the law was changed so that fingerprinting was done once rather than with each renewal of the registration, which until a law reform in 1989 was usually required every six months for anybody from the age of 16. Those refusing fingerprinting were denied re-entry permits, thus depriving them from freedom of movement.

Country	2014	2012	2011	2010	2005	2000	1990	Main　Articles
China	654,777	652,555	674,879	687,156	519,561	335,575	137,499	Chinese people in Japan
Korea	501,230	530,046	545,401	565,989	598,687	635,269	681,838	Koreans in Japan
Philippines	217,585	209,974	209,376	210,181	187,261	144,871	38,925	Filipinos in Japan
Brazil	175,410	190,581	210,032	230,552	302,080	254,394	14,258	Brazilians in Japan
Vietnam	99,865	52,364	44,690	41,781	28,932	16,908	6,316	Vietnamese people in Japan
United States	51,256	48,357	49,815	50,667	49,390	44,856	34,900	Americans in Japan
Peru	47,978	49,248	52,842	54,636	57,728	46,171	4,121	Peruvian migration to Japan
Thailand	43,081	40,130	42,750	41,279	37,703	29,289	5,542	Thais in Japan (Japanese article)
Nepal	42,346	24,069	20,383	17,525	6,953	3,649	399	Nepalis in Japan
Taiwan	40,197	22,773						Taiwanese People in Japan (Japanese article)
Indonesia	30,210	25,530	24,660	24,895	25,097	19,346	2,781	Indonesians in Japan
India	24,524	21,653	21,501	22,497	16,988	10,064	2,926	Indians in Japan
United Kingdom	15,262	14,652	15,496	16,044	17,494	16,525	9,272	British People in Japan (Japanese article)
Pakistan	11,802	10,597	10,849	10,299	8,789	7,498	1,875	Pakistanis in Japan
Sri Lanka	10,741	8,427	9,303	9,097	9,013	5,655	1,064
Myanmar	10,252	8,045	8,692	8,577	5,342	4,851	894	Burmese people in Japan
Bangladesh	9,641	8,622	9,413	10,175	11,015	7,176	2,205	Bangladeshis in Japan
France	9,641	8,455	8,423	9,060	7,337	5,371	2,881	French people in Japan
Australia	9,350	8,888	9,166	9,756	11,277	9,188	3,073	Australians in Japan (Japanese article)
Canada	9,286	9,006	9,484	9,995	12,022	10,088	4,172
Malaysia	8,288	7,848	8,136	8,364	7,910	8,386	4,309
Russia	7,859	7,295	7,566	7,814	7,110	4,893	340	Russians in Japan
Germany	5,864	5,223	5,303	5,971	5,356	4,295	3,410	Germans in Japan (Japanese article)
Mongolia	5,796	4,837	4,774	4,949	3,762	1,209	23	Mongolians in Japan
Bolivia	5,333	5,283	5,567	5,720	6,139	3,915	238
Cambodia	4,090	2,862	2,770	2,683	2,263	1,761	1,148
Iran	3,976	3,996	4,725	4,841	5,227	6,167	988	Iranians in Japan
Turkey	3,654	2,528	2,613	2,547	2,275	1,424	190	Turks in Japan・Kurds in Japan
Italy	3,267	2,629	2,642	2,731	2,083	1,579	890
New Zealand	3,119	3,109	3,146	3,250	3,824	3,264	967
Argentina	2,651	2,722	2,970	3,181	3,834	3,072	1,704
Laos	2,556	2,521	2,584	2,639	2,393	1,677	864
Nigeria	2,518	2,377	2,730	2,729	2,389	1,741	140	Nigerians in Japan
Singapore	2,366	2,135	2,440	2,512	2,283	1,940	1,042
Spain	2,309	1,822	1,883	1,907	1,585	1,338	827
Romania	2,245	2,185	2,281	2,409	3,574	2,449	34	Romanians in Japan (Japanese article)
Colombia	2,244	2,253	2,505	2,606	2,902	2,496	373
Afghanistan	2,154	1,609	1,355	1,148	593	430		Afghans in Japan (Japanese article)
Mexico	2,033	1,935	1,909	1,956	1,825	1,740	691
Total Foreign Residents	2,121,831	2,033,656	2,078,508	2,134,151	2,011,555	1,686,444	984,455

Foreign residents as of 2014 (to 2015)

As of December 2014 there were 2,121,831 foreigners residing in Japan, 677,019 of whom were long-term residents in Japan, according to national demographics figures. The majority of long-term residents were from Asia, totalling 478,953. Chinese made up the largest portion of them with 215,155, followed by Filipinos with 115,857, and Koreans with 65,711. Thai, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese long-term residents totaled 47,956, and those from other Asian countries totaled 34,274. The Korean figures do not include zainichi Koreans with tokubetsu eijusha ("special permanent resident") visas, of whom there were 354,503 (of a total of 358,409 of all nationalities with such visas). The total number of permanent residents had declined over the previous 5 years due to high cost of living.

In 2015 the Japanese government under prime minister Shinzō Abe announced that its policy of restricting immigration would not change despite the current declining population. In the long term, its plan is to improve technology to address the labour shortage, while increasing Japanese fertility rates from the current level of 1.4 to 1.8, eventually stabilizing the population at 100,000,000.

Koseki

Foreign residents were recorded only in an alien registration system separate from the koseki (family registry) and jūminhyō (resident registry) systems in which Japanese citizens were registered until a new registration system was enacted in July 2012. Since then, all residents are recorded by municipal offices in the jūminhyō system. The koseki system continues for Japanese citizens, while foreigners are recorded in a separate residency management system administered by immigration offices which combines the previous immigration status and local alien registration systems.

Foreigner-reporting website and hotline

The Japanese Ministry of Justice maintains a website and hotline (English reference) for "receiving report on [sic] illegal stay foreigner." The criteria for reporting include "feeling anxious about a foreigner", and anonymous submissions are permitted. Japanese immigration authorities work in unison with police to investigate those reported, and human rights groups such as Amnesty International have argued that those reported do not receive proper legal protection.

The Daiyo Kangoku system allows police to detain suspects without charges, access to legal counsel or telephone calls for up to 23 days. In October 2006, the foreigner reporting hotline's operating hours were extended to include Saturday, Sunday and national holidays.

Fingerprinting foreigners when entering Japan

As of November 20, 2007, all foreigners entering Japan must be biometrically registered (photograph and fingerprints) on arrival; this includes people living in Japan on visas as well as permanent residents, but excludes people with special permanent resident permission, diplomats, and those under 16.

• Immigration Control 2006, the Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Justice (Japan), 2006.
• 平成１９年版「出入国管理」の発刊について (Publication of Immigration Control 2007), 法務省入国管理局, 2007-9-21.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Japan

Shinto and Buddhism are Japan's two major religions. They have co-existed for more than a thousand years. Most Japanese do not identify themselves as adherents of one religion, but rather incorporate various elements in a syncretic fashion. There are small Christian and other minorities as well, with the Christian population dating to as early as the 1500s, as a result of European missionary work before sakoku was implemented from 1635–1853.

Businesses

Businesses for adults are growing inline with old population, such as diapers for adults. In 2012, the yearly sales of Unicharm adult diapers slightly surpassed those for babies.

See also

• Ethnic issues in Japan
• Elderly people in Japan
• Japanese people
• Aging of Japan
• Suicide in Japan
• Shimojō, Nagano, a village whose birthrate is increasing.

Historical:

• Demographic history of Japan before the Meiji Restoration
• Demography of Imperial Japan

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies. — Japan
• United Nations World Population Prospects (2004 revision). Data is for 2005.

External links

• Japan Population Census 2010
• Expatriates in Japan
• The Dilemma Posed by Japan's Population Decline, discussion paper by Julian Chapple in the electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies, 18 October 2004.
• The Exodus to North Korea Museum (commemorates the story of the 93,340 people who migrated from Japan to North Korea in the period 1959-1984)
• Another Tsunami Warning: Caring for Japan’s Elderly, Brief on what the future of Japan looks like for an increasingly aging population, and if this demographic transition is limited to Japan alone.
• Morita, Kiriro and Saskia Sassen. "The New Illegal Immigration in Japan, 1980-1992." International Migration Review, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring, 1994), pp. 153–163