Japan’s population fell for the seventh straight year in 2017, with the native population dropping at a record pace, while the influx of foreign residents forestalled an even steeper decline.
Japan’s population fell for the seventh straight year in 2017, with the native population dropping at a record pace, while the influx of foreign residents forestalled an even steeper decline.
The trend highlights a reality that few Japanese policymakers mention in public — that foreigners are rapidly emerging as a key component of Japan’s tight labor market. The number of Japanese fell by 372,000 to 124.64 million as of October, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The decline exceeded the 299,000 drop in 2016 and marked the fastest slide since the government began keeping records in 1950.
