The demography of Japan is monitored by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) and Statistics Bureau. In April 2025, Japan's population was roughly 123.4 million people, and peaked at 128.5 million people in 2010. It is the 6th-most populous country in Asia, and the 12th-most populous country in the world.

In 2024, the median age of Japanese people was projected to be 49.9 years, the highest level since 1950, compared to 29.8 for India, 38.9 for the United States and 40.2 for China. Japan has the second highest median age in the world, behind only Monaco. An improved quality of life and regular health checks are two reasons why Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

The life expectancy from birth in Japan improved significantly after World War II, rising 20 years between 1945 and 1955. As life expectancy rises further, Japan expects to experience difficulties caring for the older generations in the future. Shortages in the service sector are already a major concern, with demand for nurses and care workers increasing.

The fertility rate among Japanese women was around 1.4 children per woman from 2010 to 2018. From then until 2022, the fertility rate declined to 1.2. Apart from a small baby boom in the early 1970s, the crude birth rate in Japan has been declining since 1950. It reached its current lowest point of 5.8 births per thousand people in 2023. With a falling birth rate and a large share of its inhabitants reaching old age, Japan's population is expected to continue declining, a trend that has been seen since 2010.

Japanese is a major language of the Japonic language family spoken by Japanese people, which is separated into several dialects, with the Tokyo dialect considered Standard Japanese. Japanese has around 128 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora across the globe.

The sex ratio in Japan in 2021 was 95.38 males per 100 females. There are 61.53 million males and 64.52 million females in Japan. The female percentage of the population was 51.18%, compared to 48.82% male population. Japan has 2.98 million more females than males.

Historical overview

In 2025, Japan was the world's twelfth-most populous country. Japan's population had declined by 0.8 percent from the time of the 2012 census, the first time it had declined since the 1945 census.

Since 2010, Japan has experienced net population loss due to falling birth rates and minimal immigration, despite having one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at 85.00 years in 2016. It stood at 81.25 in 2006. Using the annual estimate for October of each year, the population peaked in 2008 at 128,083,960 and had fallen by 2,983,352 by October 2021.Japan Statistical Agency monthly Population Estimate.

Based on 2012 data from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan's population will keep declining by about one million people every year in the coming decades, which would leave it with a population of around 70 million by 2060 and 42 million by early 22nd century if the current projections do not change. More than 40% of the population is expected to be over the age of 65 in 2060.

In 2021, the population declined by 644,000, the largest drop on record since 1945 and also reflecting a record low of 831,000 births. In 2013, more than 20 percent of the population of Japan were aged 65 and over. Many reasons are behind the decline, including the declining birthrates, and the ratio of men to women since the last measurements from 2006 and 2010. According to the Japanese Health Ministry, the population is estimated to drop from its current state of 125.58 million to 86.74 million by 2060.

In July 2000, the population consisted of 47,062,743 households, with 78.7% in urban areas. Japan has a high population density of 329.5 people per square kilometer. There are 1,523 persons per square kilometer of habitable land.

Japan dropped steadily from the 5th most populous country in the world to the 12th over the period of 1964 to 2023. Between 2010 to 2015, Japan's population shrank by almost a million, and Japan lost a half-million in 2022 alone. The number of Japanese citizens decreased by 801,000 to 122,423,038 in 2022 from a year earlier, which was the most severe decrease and the first time all 47 prefectures have suffered a decline since the launch of the poll in 1968. In early 2010, Japan's population reached 128,057,352. In the 2010s, the long-lasting effects of Japanese economic crisis during the Great Recession strongly slowed down immigration rates in Japan.

In March 2011, Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, which caused the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. These disasters resulted in 20,000 deaths, a reduction of about 1.39 years in the average life expectancy, a decrease in birth rates, and the steepest decrease in immigration rates since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

From January 2020 to the end of September 2021 and as a direct effect of COVID-19 pandemic, Japan registered at least 112,000 excess deaths, a reduction of about 2.6 years in the average life expectancy, a noticeable decrease in birth rates and a marked decrease in immigration rates. The overall effect was a record population decline of 798,214 persons in that year. The excess mortality rate for all causes has been estimated at between 100,000 and 130,000 deaths. It is the largest population decline recorded since World War I (1914–1918), Spanish flu pandemic (1918–1920), Great Kanto earthquake (1923), Showa Recession and Depression of 1930s, and Asia-Pacific War in World War II (1937–1945).

A 2023 demographic study found that the Japanese population, including foreign residents, declined from 128 million people in 2010 to 124.3 million people in 2023, with a decrease of almost 511,000 people in one year.

Population

Census

Japan collects census information every five years, with censuses conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The latest population census reflects the situation in 2020.

Population density

In 2025, Japan's population density was 338 people per square kilometer (875 people per square mile). It ranks 41st in a list of countries by population density. Between 1955 and 1989, land prices in the six largest cities increased by 15,000%, +12% per year compounded. Urban land prices generally increased 40% from 1980 to 1987. In the six largest cities, the price of land doubled over that period. For many families, this trend put housing in central cities out of reach.

The result was lengthy commutes for many workers in the big cities, especially in Tokyo area/Kanto Region, where daily commutes of two hours each way are common. In 1991, as the bubble economy started to collapse, land prices began a steep decline, and within a few years fell 60% below their peak. After a decade of declining land prices, residents began moving back into central city areas, especially Tokyo's 23 wards, as evidenced by 2005 census figures. Despite nearly 70% of Japan being covered by forests, parks in many major cities—especially Tokyo and Osaka—are smaller and scarcer than in major West European or North American cities. As of 2014, parkland per inhabitant in Tokyo is 5.78 square meters, which is roughly half of the 11.5 square meters of Madrid.

National and regional governments devote resources to making regional cities and rural areas more attractive by developing transportation networks, social services, industry, and educational institutions to try to decentralize settlement and improve the quality of life. Nevertheless, major cities, especially Tokyo, Yokohama and Fukuoka, and to a lesser extent Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya, remain attractive to young people seeking education and jobs.

Urban distribution

Japan has a high population concentration in urban areas on the plains since 75% of Japan's land area is made up of mountains, and also Japan has a forest cover rate of 68.5% (the only other developed countries with such a high forest cover percentage are Finland and Sweden). The 2010 census shows 90.7% of the total Japanese population live in cities.

Japan is an urban society with about only 5% of the labor force working in agriculture. Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population is heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu.

Metropolitan Tokyo–Yokohama, with its population of 35 million residents, is the world's most populous city. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: overcrowded cities and congested highways.

Age structure

The age structure of Japan is highly unique and is characterized by a "super-aged" society and it is the oldest population structure in the world. This demographic profile results from the combination of a high life expectancy and a persistently low total fertility rate (TFR). The age distribution is often described as a constrictive or inverted pyramid shape, with a narrow base (few young people) and a large bulge in the middle and upper ages. + Overview of the changing age distribution 1935–2020YearTotal population(census;thousands)Population by age (%) 0–14 15–64 65+ 193569,254 194073,114 194571,998 195083,199 195589,275 196093,418 196598,274 1970103,720 1975111,939 1980117,060 1985121,048 1990123,611 1995125,570 2000126,925 2005127,767 2010128,057 2015127,094 2020126,226 2025123,400

Japan's population is aging faster than that of any other nation. The population of those 65 years or older roughly doubled in 24 years, from 7.1% of the population in 1970 to 14.1% in 1994. The same increase took 61 years in Italy, 85 years in Sweden, and 115 years in France. In 2014, 26% of Japan's population was estimated to be 65 years or older, and the Health and Welfare Ministry has estimated that over-65s will account for 40% of the population by 2060. The demographic shift in Japan's age profile has triggered concerns about the nation's economic future and the viability of its welfare state.Hashimoto, Ryutaro (attributed). General Principles Concerning Measures for the Aging Society . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 2011-3-5.

Population pyramids by prefecture

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 61 226 000 64 610 000 125 836 000 100 0–4 2 406 000 2 288 000 4 694 000 3.73 5–9 2 580 000 2 462 000 5 042 000 4.01 10–14 2 736 000 2 605 000 5 341 000 4.24 15–19 2 932 000 2 792 000 5 724 000 4.55 20–24 3 298 000 3 089 000 6 386 000 5.07 25–29 3 240 000 3 036 000 6 275 000 4.99 30–34 3 391 000 3 244 000 6 635 000 5.27 35–39 3 767 000 3 665 000 7 432 000 5.91 40–44 4 289 000 4 183 000 8 472 000 6.73 45–49 4 954 000 4 847 000 9 801 000 7.79 50–54 4 353 000 4 305 000 8 658 000 6.88 55–59 3 905 000 3 913 000 7 818 000 6.21 60–64 3 674 000 3 770 000 7 443 000 5.91 65–69 4 047 000 4 305 000 8 351 000 6.64 70–74 4 288 000 4 798 000 9 086 000 7.22 75–79 3 193 000 3 953 000 7 145 000 5.68 80–84 2 239 000 3 159 000 5 398 000 4.29 85–89 1 323 000 2 394 000 3 717 000 2.95 90–94 506 000 1 316 000 1 822 000 1.45 95–99 97 000 421 000 519 000 0.41 100+ 10 000 66 000 76 000 0.06Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 7 722 000 7 355 000 15 077 000 11.98 15–64 37 801 000 36 843 000 74 644 000 59.32 65+ 15 703 000 20 412 000 36 115 000 28.70

Sex ratio Agegroup20062020At birth1.051.060–151.051.0615–641.011.0165+0.730.78Total0.950.94

Vital statistics

Statistics since 1873 Source: National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS) and Statistics Bureau of JapanB.R. Mitchell. International historical statistics: Africa. Asia & Oceania 1750–2000. Figures for 1947–1972 do not include Okinawa Prefecture.

Notable events in Japanese demographics: 1904–1905 – Russo-Japanese War 1923 – Great Kanto earthquake