Japan’s population has fallen for the sixth consecutive year, but the pace of decline was mitigated by a rise in the number of foreign residents, government data showed Friday.<\/b>
Japan’s population has fallen for the sixth consecutive year, but the pace of decline was mitigated by a rise in the number of foreign residents, government data showed Friday.
Japan’s population stood at 126.93 million as of Oct 1, 2016, down 162, 000 from a year earlier, with the number of Japanese residents declining by a record 299, 000 to 125.02 million. In contrast, the number of foreign residents increased by a record 136, 000, the data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed.
The data underscored that Japan is continuing on the path toward a \u00ab\u00a0super-aging society\u00a0\u00bb as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates and high life expectancy, while the sustainability of pension and other social security services remains unclear.
A ministry official said the number of foreigners coming to Japan to work has been on the rise, with the effects of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, nuclear disasters seemingly having come to an end. Foreigners living in Japan for over three months were included in the population data.
The number of people who died in the year through last September exceeded the number of babies born in the period by 296, 000, producing a natural decline in the nation’s population for the 10th consecutive year.
The data showed a record 27.3% of Japan’s population was aged 65 or above. The proportion of working-age people, aged from 15 to 64, fell to 60.3%, the lowest level since 1951.<\/p>\n