TOKYO (Kyodo) — The number of Japanese nationals fell below 120 million for the first time in 42 years to 119,736,483 at the start of this year, the government said Wednesday, underscoring the challenges faced by a nation battling declining birth rates.
The figure as of Jan. 1 showed a drop of 917,000 people from a year earlier, the largest fall since comparable data became available in 1968, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The number of foreign residents, meanwhile, rose 354,000 to a record 4,031,159. The ministry began compiling relevant data in 2013.
Despite government efforts to reverse the declining birth trend, the country recorded around 670,000 births, a record low, compared with around 1.59 million deaths.
Let the population fall and deal with it. There are many advantages to a shrinking population. A nation should not be a population Ponzi scheme, wherein only a few benefit from the imported labor. Always wanting population growth, even excluding the price of destroying your country, is an argument ad absurdum; a logical, philosophical and sociological failure. ABN
