Japan records steepest population decline while number of foreign residents hits new high

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s population has declined in all of its 47 prefectures for the first time in a record drop, while its population of foreign residents reached a new high of almost 3 million people, highlighting the increasing role that non-Japanese people play in the shrinking and aging country. Data released Wednesday from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry based on residency registrations as of Jan. 1 this year showed the population of Japanese nationals fell by about 800,000 people, or 0.65%, to 122.4 million in 2022 from the previous year, falling for a 14th straight year.