Japan’s population has fallen to just over 123 million, marking the biggest drop ever over a five-year period, according to preliminary 2025 census data reported by public broadcaster NHK, Anadolu reports.

Japan’s Interior Ministry said the population was 123,049,524 on October 1, 2025, falling by more than 3 million people or 2.5 percent compared to the previous census in 2020.

These figures mark the third consecutive population decline since 2015, when Japan first recorded a decrease. The country has conducted a national census every five years since 1920.

Of Japan’s 47 prefectures, only Tokyo and Okinawa have seen population growth, although the growth rate was slower in both. The other 45 prefectures saw declines, with Hokkaido recording the largest decline.

Despite the population decline, the number of households reached a record 57.1 million while the number of persons per household fell from 2.26 to 2.15. Officials say this shows the increase in the number of elderly people living alone.

The ministry is expected to release the final census data by September.

Source: prizrenpost